The president of the Dominican Association of Home Builders and Developers (Acoprovi), Jorge Montalvo, agrees with the creation of a code for the construction of housing, as announced by the Minister of Housing, Habitat and Buildings, Carlos Bonilla Sánchez, during the Listín Diario Breakfast.
Montalvo indicated that the minister spoke of a compendium of clear and updated rules that would allow builders to know what requirements they must take into account when designing their projects.
“We agree, as he talks about making regulations adapted to our reality. There are many obsolete regulations, dating back decades and they are not updated. The ideal is to have clear rules”, considered the representative of one of the main organizations of the construction sector in the country.
Proposal
While participating in the Listín Diario Breakfast, the head of the recently created Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (MIVHED) said that in the Dominican Republic there is no robust construction code, but only simple regulations. Therefore, he stated that the country needs a code that stipulates all the rules to build and design safer buildings.
Bonilla said that the creation of this code, which would apply to both the public and private sectors, is one of the first actions to be implemented by the Ministry.
Recently, before the existence of the MIVHED, Acoprovi stated in a press release that the Dominican Republic was the only country in Latin America that did not have an official body to regulate housing and to implement an integral policy that promotes a correct planning of the State in this aspect.
According to Acoprovi, the establishment of this regulatory body will allow the development of projects under the rules and regulations of the law.
Old regulation
One of the laws that regulates the activity related to the construction of buildings in the country is Law No. 675 of August 14, 1944 on Urbanization, Public Ornament and Constructions, from the time of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo.
Since then, the construction sector has experienced many advances. Many of them have to do with the reduction of vulnerability and the design and construction of environmentally friendly housing.
Sustainable development
The United Nations (UN) has warned that rapid urbanization in countries has caused a large number of people to live in poor neighborhoods, with inadequate infrastructure and services, therefore in one of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) states that by 2030 nations must ensure access for all people to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and improve slums.
