Donetsk, Feb 6 - DAN. DPR business people began to pay twice as less for leasing space at markets across the Republic after the introduction of government control, Donbass Markets state-owned enterprise director Dmitriy Khorunzhiy told Donetsk News Agency.
“An analysis of point of sale lease contract rates at the markets run by the Donbass Markets state-owned enterprise shows their two-fold decrease from pre-war period when the markets were in private ownership,” Khorunzhiy said.
Unreported extra payments which sellers had to pay to market owners often increased the leasing costs three-fold from the present rate.
The Donbass Markets director noted improvements of infrastructure at a number of markets, repairs of war-damaged buildings and the opening of new ones.
Donbass Markets was established on 18 March 2015 by DPR Council of Ministers resolution. The Republic began de facto transfer of retail facilities into state ownership in April 2016 after the parliament passed a law on regulating market trade. The state-owned company manages 114 markets at present. *jk