diff --git a/jps/jps-plugin/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/compilerRunner/KotlinCompilerRunner.kt b/jps/jps-plugin/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/compilerRunner/KotlinCompilerRunner.kt
index 50e752af3b6..19897e05a6c 100644
--- a/jps/jps-plugin/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/compilerRunner/KotlinCompilerRunner.kt
+++ b/jps/jps-plugin/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/compilerRunner/KotlinCompilerRunner.kt
@@ -136,6 +136,10 @@ public object KotlinCompilerRunner {
                 val compilerId = CompilerId.makeCompilerId(File(libPath, "kotlin-compiler.jar"))
                 val daemonOptions = configureDaemonOptions()
                 val daemonJVMOptions = configureDaemonJVMOptions(true)
+                // the property should be set by default for daemon builds to avoid parallel building problems
+                // but it cannot be currently set by default globally, because it seems breaks many tests
+                // TODO: find out how to get rid of the property and make it the default behavior
+                daemonJVMOptions.jvmParams.add("Dkotlin.environment.keepalive")
 
                 val daemonReportMessages = ArrayList<DaemonReportMessage>()