KIEV, Feb. 23 - The Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities of Ukraine is intending to achieve annual natural gas savings by heating companies of at least three billion cubic meters.

At present gas consumption is about nine billion cubic meters per year - excluding the consumption of OJSC Kyivenergo.

"We have very ambitious goals. In general, we set the task of saving up to three billion cubic meters of gas in the municipal heating sector. According to our calculations, the saving of one billion cubic meters of gas can be obtained only through fully providing buildings with individual heating units. This will require UAH 15-20 billion, and this should be funds from various sources, in particular, credit money. The second stage requires UAH 150 billion of funding, first of all, for the thermal modernization of buildings," the press service said citing minister Anatoliy Blyzniuk.