Nando Bodha: “Let’s professionalise the construction sector”

Public Infrastructure Minister Nandcoomar Bodha has announced a series of new measures and guidelines for the construction measure. He stated that there has been a decline in growth in the constructions sector during the past few years, but this sector will rebound. He highlighted that there is always issues with payment of fees among main contractors, sub contractors and workers. These litigations affect the progress of works and also relations among the parties. To improve the situation and protect the interest and rights of all stakeholders, a Security of Payment Bill will be introduced as soon as April this year to bring an adjudication system to solve such problems in the sector. “This works efficiently abroad and I will bring this law in early April,” he told the press. “Today, a sub contractor does not have any recourse towards the client as he is working for the main contractor only. This will change,” he explained. The Minister also launched a Construction Guide which explains basic construction issues and principles to the general public. “People who construct their houses can thus verify whether contractors are delivering according to what they want,” he said. “The construction sector should be able to evolve according to international norms and standards. So far, more than 750 contractors have come forward for registration with the Construction Industry Development Board. There is also provision for training contractors to help them upgrade themselves. Also in the pipeline, a new application system for Building Permit. An application will thus be submitted directly to the District or Municipal Council, and it is the responsibility of the latter to seek clearance from other agencies such as utilities, (CEB, CWA, Wastewater, Fire, etc) which will have up to 5 days to respond, otherwise the silent agreement principle applies. The ministry will shortly hold a workshop to review all legislations pertaining to the construction sector, and identify overlaps and duplication. The construction sector has an annual turnover of about 35 billion rupees, with about 1,200 operators, employing nearly 90,000 persons. There is also an issue of mismatch of labour. “We want to have a pool of professional labour, well trained and who can deliver, not only locally but also abroad, as there are some local construction companies which tender for international contracts. Companies not registered with CIDB will not be able to tender for public works,” he said.