Building and Construction Agency established at last

The Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects today announced the publication of Legal Notice 192 of 2019 which will set up the Building and Construction Agency.

The agency, which was launched last October, will be revising legislation regulating the building and construction industry, with the aim of updating this to reflect the present as well as consolidating the same legislation. The agency will be preparing, implementing and communicating these new policies while speaking and consulting with several stakeholders.

Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects Ian Borg said: “We need to ensure that the building and construction industry is regulated uniformly and with a clear direction. We started work last year when we published the White Paper for the setting up of the Malta Construction and Building Authority and consulted with all interested parties. The setting up of this Agency was the next step before we finally set up the Authority in the near future. We should also remember that a few weeks ago we carried out an important reform in the same industry, to continue working towards more safety, responsibility and transparency. I am now looking ahead to the setting up of the MCBA.”

The Malta Construction and Building Authority will eventually consolidate various current entities, in particular the Building Regulation Office, known as the BRO, the Masons Board and the Building Regulation Board, known as the BRB, under one authority, the government has said. This authority will not only focus on buildings during the construction stage, but will also monitor the performance of completed buildings once occupied.

The government has said it remains committed to consulting, working and making decisions on the regulation of an industry that is so important to the economy, and stresses that safety and quality will always be given first priority in this sector as well.

Construction Agency ‘only the first step in a long journey’ - Chamber

The Malta Chamber of Commerce congratulated the government on setting up the Building and Construction Agency, and augured “that this is only the first step in a target driven journey of raising quality standards and upholding ethical operations in the very active construction industry.”

It has until recently been vociferous about the need for a complete overhaul of the construction industry, no less the establishment of an authority that would be tasked with tangibly raising the standards of this important industry.

The chamber’s calls remained unchanged, it said yesterday, “as it advocates a high-quality economy where mediocrity and sub-standards become a thing of the past, and are replaced by a culture of excellence, where the current ‘good enough’ attitude is replaced by ‘nothing but the best’ within a specified time frame. “

The Chamber of Commerce stressed its belief “that the ethical standards and quality of our construction industry need to be raised immediately and brought in line with those in other developed countries. Our citizens certainly deserve no less.”

“Let this be a first step in the right direction that has clear and tangible quality and respectful deliverables and objectives,” it said.