In Russia, 100,000 elevators are to be replaced in 2024. But there is no money to replace it, which means that millions of people in apartment buildings are at risk. Accidents with elevators are already becoming regular, and manufacturers of elevator equipment complain of a lack of funds.
The elevator has been a source of increased danger and fears for many Russians since childhood. Some even admit that they have nightmares about the elevator: it falls, gets stuck, rushes up with great speed. These fears cannot be called unfounded, especially in recent years, when houses are built quickly and not always with high quality. The fall of the elevator may be due not only to its malfunctions, but also to problems at home.
Do not forget such a sad fact: in Russia, elevators usually work longer than their service life, which is 25 years.
In the first half of 2024, the regional authorities purchased 8.2 thousand new elevators as part of the overhaul of apartment buildings — this is 39% less than in the same period last year. Meanwhile, it is no longer possible to hide the problem with outdated elevators in Russia: now 72 thousand out of 581 thousand elevators in operation in the country have fulfilled their standard term of 25 years.
Tragic Emergencies with elevators are happening more and more often.
So, an old elevator shaft collapsed in the center of Moscow. The emergency happened in the famous Lancer house on the corner of Milyutinsky and Bobrov lanes. The mine collapsed during the overhaul, one of the workers hung on to the structures, he was rescued. One person was killed and another was injured due to an elevator malfunction at a warehouse in Moscow, the TG channel of the capital’s IC reported.
On July 14, at the warehouse located on Koptevskaya Street, there was a malfunction in the elevator. As a result, two people were injured. One of them could not be saved — he died in the hospital.
Shortly before that, in one of the Moscow polyclinics, the elevator collapsed from a height of 15 floors. The victim was one person, according to the Telegram channel Mash. A 32-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries.
On June 19, an elevator shaft collapsed in a house on an Earthen Rampart — at that moment there were three people inside, one man was hospitalized. This is data only for the last month and a half…
“I am not sure that the elevators will be replaced by the time of wear, by the beginning of 2025, as it is necessary according to regulatory documents. I think their validity period will be extended, but this will not save the lifts from problems. Cables will start to break, there will be accidents. I think it will be a disaster. The situation is critical. Now everyone is looking for ways out,” Svetlana Razvorotneva, deputy chairman of the State Duma Housing and Communal Services Committee, told SP.
Most often, complaints about elevator facilities can be heard from residents of new buildings. It would seem that new houses, new elevators, everything should work like clockwork. But, alas, this is not the case. The developer strives to save money on everything, including elevators. As a result, residents of high floors have to pay for beautiful views from the windows with daily fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones…
“The situation with elevators could not be more serious, because we are talking about the lives and safety of thousands of people. Now the replacement and repair of elevators are possible according to two schemes. The first is the so—called “common boiler”, when several houses or an entire region save money together to replace elevators, and change them as they wear out where elevators need to be replaced in the first place.
The second scheme is the so—called special accounts. As a rule, this scheme operates in former cooperatives, in HBC houses, where all residents are owners. The contractor or manufacturer of elevator equipment takes a loan from the bank, and the homeowners then help to repay it at their own expense. But, as a rule, this allows you to change not all elevators in the house, but only one. In general, elevator operators prefer to work directly with homeowners,” Galina Khovanskaya, chairman of the State Duma Commission on ensuring housing rights of citizens, told SP.
The problem of replacing old elevators has also worsened in recent years due to the fact that foreign manufacturers such as Otis and Kone have left the Russian Federation. Russian manufacturers are trying to establish import substitution. In January—June 2024, domestic factories produced almost 13 thousand elevators, according to Rosstat data. However, throughout Russia, there are more than 72 thousand elevators in operation in residential buildings, which have already worked out their service life — 25 years.
Where can I get the money to replace the old elevators and when will it really happen? With this question, we turned to the first vice-president of the National Elevator Union, Alexey Zakharov.
— The replacement of elevators should be completed by February 2025 in accordance with the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union. In general, the deadline was initially set until 2020, but the Customs Union extended the deadline.
But I strongly doubt that even by the beginning of 2025, the elevator operators will be able to fulfill all their obligations. At least the funds in the accounts of the Capital Repair Fund are hardly enough for this.
At the last meeting, the Ministry of Construction announced a figure: replacing one elevator costs 3.5 million rubles today. And it is necessary to replace 100 thousand elevators in the country this year. The Ministry of Finance, as far as I know, refused subsidies. They also do not promise direct financing from the budget. The situation is hopeless.
“SP”: After the departure of foreign manufacturers, did we somehow figure out the import substitution of elevators?
— In There are 7 large elevator manufacturers in Russia and 25 medium-sized ones. Yes, today, for example, the Meteor Elevator company is operating, which produces unique equipment — elevators with an average speed of up to 2 meters per second. They are designed for 45-50 storey buildings. And some factories are already preparing elevators that can move at a speed of 4 meters per second. The Chelyabinsk plant is already launching them in a series.
“SP”: All this sounds tempting, but who will give money for their mass production?
— We do not have a single federal body responsible for monitoring this process. All hope is in the regions. But in reality, we can talk about replacing elevators only in a few cities where capital repair fees are quite high: In Moscow, 24 rubles per square meter. meter, in the Moscow region — 21, in St. Petersburg — 19. The rest of the regions are falling short in terms of prices for replacing elevators. That is why we propose to postpone the replacement of elevators for another 5 years. It should be borne in mind that the industry has been hit by sanctions, a pandemic, and rising metal prices.
Or there is another way — to increase contributions for capital repairs, as the cost of elevators is increasing. Co—financing is the only way out, because the government has refused money to the elevator operators.
“If in Moscow and In St. Petersburg, the elevators are still in relatively tolerable condition and they are sometimes even replaced, then several regions have reduced the volume of elevator purchases at once — Ulyanovsk, Yaroslavl and Astrakhan region, where more than half of the elevators are worn out,” summarizes Regina Mukhametrakhimova, Project Manager of the business and asset valuation practice of the NEO consulting company. According to her, 80% of all elevators in Crimea will reach the age limit of 25 in the near future, and in Udmurtia has equipment older than 40 years.
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