Raising standards for the construction industry is an absolute priority and must happen even if leads to a sectoral slowdown, the Malta Developers Association has said.

The MDA said “amateurs” who are unwilling or unable to update their work practices to modern-day standards “should be cut off once and for all”.

Rather than adding red tape required to start a development project, authorities should focus on creating a framework to ensure high quality for the sector, it said.

“We need to see who is behind each project and that such contractors have all the competent people required to be on site. This has to be done even if we are aware that the amount of development that is currently being made may decrease,” the MDA said in a statement on Wednesday.

Construction is an important driver of Malta's economy, with more than 17,000 people employed in jobs directly related to it. According to the National Statistics Office, construction made up 4.3 per cent of the economy in 2022. 

The lobby group statement comes one week after a magisterial inquiry into a Corradino construction site collapse was made public. The inquiry revealed how the court-appointed expert, architect and academic Alex Torpiano, found a long list of failings at the site.

There was no qualified builder overseeing works at the site, with unqualified and inexperienced workmen receiving instructions from the developer, who had no construction qualifications.

Workers never saw the architect on site, who appeared to direct works over WhatsApp, and people were allowed to come and go on-site without any access control. 

Five people have been charged in connection with the site collapse, which killed 20-year-old Jean Paul Sofia and injured five others.

In the wake of the tragedy and public pressure for a public inquiry into the collapse, the government introduced a much-delayed law that will require demolition, excavation and construction contractors to obtain a licence by 2025. 

That law has however been criticised by the MDA, architects and insurance brokers for what they say are "weak" insurance provisions that they fear will lead to contractors being under-insured. 

The MDA said it would no longer tolerate “amateurism and incompetent people” harming the sector and emphasised that its members were vetted before being accepted.

Those claiming to be a developer “overnight” are not welcome in the association, it said.

“For years, the MDA has been striving to bring in proper training, professionalism and a serious licensing regimen, not only for developers and contractors, but also for tile layers, installers of apertures and all kinds of operators working in this field.

"These should also be recognized by the state and all the amateurs who don’t want to update their work practices for today's times, should be cut off once and for all,” it said.