The government will publish a legal notice on licensing construction industry contractors in the coming days, according to senior government sources.  

It comes after the EU gave the go-ahead for the new legislation.  

Contractors have till the end of October to apply for licences for demolition, excavation and building works. 

They will still be able to operate while the Building and Construction Authority evaluates their application.  

Those who do not apply by October 31 will not be allowed to operate from November.  

As it stands, contractors do not require any proof of their competence to work on construction sites. 

Planning minister Stefan Zrinzo had previously said that applications for licensing would open on June 1.  

But in a May 31 press statement, the planning ministry said the legal notice was being sent to the European Commission for approval.  

A ministry spokesperson later confirmed the legal notice was subject to EU directive 2018/958. 

The directive demands a proportionality test before adopting new regulations on professions.  

Under the EU principle of proportionality, measures must be suitable and necessary to achieve the desired end; and regulations must not impose an excessive burden on an individual.  

Government sources said the European Commission greenlit Malta's new licensing of contractors regime, and the legal notice will come "within the coming days".  

Zrinzo announced plans to introduce a licensing regime for contractors last November. The planning ministry then kicked off a public consultation for the licensing scheme in March. 

A licensing system for contractors in the construction industry has been on the cards for some time. 

Former parliamentary secretary for construction Chris Agius pledged to licence contractors over two years ago, in January 2021.  

He had said setting up the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) would lead to contractors licencing.  

Similarly, in 2019 the government gave itself a deadline to set up a licencing regime for contractors by the end of 2019. 

“If you do not have a licence, you cannot operate in the industry. This should happen by the end of the year,” Ian Borg, the minister responsible at the time, said in 2019. 

Dangerous industry

Construction is Malta's most dangerous industry. Between 2018 and 2022, 29 workers died on construction sites.  

20-year-old Jean Paul Sofia was the industry's latest victim. He died after a Corradino building collapsed while under construction. 

Sofia's mother, Isabelle Bonnici, is holding a vigil in Valletta for her son on Monday evening after the government defeated a motion for a public inquiry into Sofia's death.