Proposal to extend the useful life of old elevators

Izvestia reported that the Russian Ministry of Construction has conducted an inventory of domestic elevator equipment.

The Ministry assessed the number and condition of lifting mechanisms in apartment buildings that were included in the capital repair program. In total, they counted 575 thousand pieces, of which 64 thousand expired next February. The estimated cost to replace them is 195 billion rubles.

There will be another 56 thousand elevators available in 2025–2030; they will need 211.5 billion rubles. In 5 years, the country will need to replace 120 thousand mechanisms at a cost of 406.5 billion rubles. These statistics do not take into account the situation in new regions.

With the large volume of work, the Ministry of Construction proposed to amend current regulations – extending the validity period of all elevators by 5 years. Corresponding amendments will need to be made to the “Elevator Safety” technical regulations, which regulate this stage at the Eurasian Union level. In reality, everything will not be so simple.

First of all, Rostekhnadzor will conduct a technical inspection of the premises and draw conclusions, based on which individual elevator components, their parts will be replaced or the service life of the elevator will be extended if its technical condition at the time of the incident. Tested to meet safety requirements. Based on the results of those studies, some elevators with a service life of more than 25 years may continue to operate for the next 5 years.