Deal signed to improve construction quality

TIRANA, Feb. 28 – The Construction and Urban Planning Inspectorate has signed an agreement with the Institute of Construction to improve quality in construction works. Under the deal signed last weekend, the two state institutions will cooperate to discipline the quality of construction products bringing them closer to European standards and guarantee the safety of citizens’ lives.
The Public Works and Transport Ministry has decided that each construction project worth more than 100 million lek (around 1 million dollars) will be assessed by the Construction Institute while the Construction Police will be put in the Construction Inspectorate structure to enable more professional controls in the construction sector starting with the design project and its completion.
Based on the deal, the Construction Institute will provide technical assistance to the Inspectorate by carrying out tests in the accredited laboratories. The changes will give the Construction Inspectorate a new dimension to also carry out controls on the quality of construction materials apart from its usual job of identifying and demolishing illegal constructions.
Few weeks ago, government approved a draft law on the environmental impact assessment, a process which identifies the environmental effects (both negative and positive) of development proposals. It aims to prevent, reduce and offset any adverse impacts.