Architects’ objections to revised construction laws appear to be a thing of the past, with the profession’s regulatory body saying “practically all” of its requests have been met by authorities.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Kamra tal-Periti said it was pleased by the way talks had panned out with the government and confident that there was the political will to comprehensively reform the construction sector.

The KTP statement came one day after Planning Minister Ian Borg sent the body a letter of commitment in which he promised to submit draft legislation to create a new supervisory body, the Building and Construction Authority, to parliament by the end of October.

In the letter, Dr Borg also said amendments to the Periti Act, which regulates local architects and civil engineers, would be presented to parliament following the summer recess. Architects have been calling for the law to be overhauled for more than a decade.

Construction rule truce

The minister’s letter of commitment and subsequent KTP statement appear to draw a line under a series of disagreements between the profession and government concerning revised rules for excavation and demolition works.

Those rules were drafted and brought into force in less than two weeks, following a series of construction site collapses which jolted authorities into action.

Architects had argued that the revised laws leaned too heavily on them and that the only real solution was to ensure all other stakeholders in the construction sector were properly regulated.

Government had tweaked the laws following talks with the KTP and has pledged to continue doing so in the coming months.  In the meantime, it has also started the process which will lead to the creation of a register of licensed contractors.

Earlier on Saturday, the government welcomed the KTP's decision to lift a directive to its members concerning the appointment of site technical officers - qualified people responsible for overseeing key excavation and demolition processes.