Developers and architects have joined forces to lobby the government jointly, in a bid to increase standards within the construction industry.
Kamra tal-Periti (KTP) president Andre Pizzuto and the Malta Developers Association (MDA) president Michael Stivala signed into force the National Building Council on Friday.
“We did this because of the damage happening to the industry's reputation and the negative opinion people have developed towards the industry in the last years,” Pizzuto said.
“We create the space where people live, work, spend their free time and relax; it is a duty of all the stakeholders that what they create is of the highest quality,” he said.
The KPT head said last week’s incident in Gżira shows why standards need to improve.
He was referring to the collapse of a facade and scaffolding at a construction site which narrowly missed passers-by. The collapse, which is being investigated by multiple authorities, is believed to have been caused by tremors caused during excavation works.
Pizzuto said the Building and Construction Authority, set up as a sectoral regulator some years ago, had created more bureaucracy, without leading to more safety in the industry.
Asked to elaborate on the issue, Pizzuto said: “The BCA does go on site when there are reports, but the industry will not just improve with enforcement alone.
“Enforcement is a small part of what is needed. What we need are higher standards and better training,” he said.
He said the industry needs to regulate itself as a result.
“The solution in the present and maybe even in the future is more effort on self-regulation; we need to set higher standards,” he said.
MDA president Michael Stivala said developers and KTP had worked together to lobby the government to introduce a new requirement for all new buildings in Gozo to have a limestone façade.
He listed some of the new building council's priorities: constructing more environmentally friendly buildings, improving standards to protect third parties during construction, providing more education and training for workers and making sure the quality of construction materials are up to standard.
He said the National Building Council is open to welcoming other associations in the industry.