Gov't to ease regulations on construction materials

In one case, for example, the price of some types of bricks shot up by as much as 400%. As a result there has been increasing public demand for government action. Deputy Prime Minister Przemysław Gosiewski in cooperation with a team of experts has prepared changes to regulations in order to bring prices under control, and even reduce them. The initial ideas include making it easier for small brickyards to operate, reducing the complicated procedures related to opening new mines as well as more beneficial regulations concerning the limits of carbon dioxide emission in the construction sector. "We have a free market, and the prices are set by the market. If the demand for materials is much greater than supply, which is the current situation, than the prices of bricks, cement and other goods will grow," said Paweł Grząbka, from the board of CEE Property Group. According to Stanisław Dygudaj, the owner of a small brickyard in the Opolskie voivodship, the government should first of all lower taxes and solve the problems related to the lack of employees. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B1) A.K.