OREANDA-NEWS. September 04, 2008. Comprehensive regulatory framework governing construction is needed in Belarus, Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorsky stated at a session, reported the Official website www.government.by.

The session focuses on the issues of increasing the efficiency of design organizations and simplifying technical regulatory documents in the construction sector. The Head of Government noted that all the operations from submitting an application to the construction of a facility should be spelled out in the document. It should also include a list of permit licenses, technical conditions for designing and coordination.

“We need to create efficient, clear and transparent conditions to make the Belarusian construction sector as attractive as possible for investors,” Sergei Sidorsky underlined.

The Premier also said it was important to apply a mechanism of concurrent engineering in the construction industry. This mechanism, however, has not been worked out properly in the country, the Prime Minister said. There are no clear and intelligible schemes of its functioning. At the same time standard, often repeated design is widely used in Belarus though no law on this issue has been adopted.

“When travelling around the regions I could see that an investment programme is often slow because the design and estimate documentation do not arrive in time,” the Prime Minister said. Therefore it is important to simplify the paperwork coordinating procedures. This process should not take more time that the construction itself. According to Sergei Sidorsky, the paperwork at the Emergencies Ministry, sanitary and hygienic services is very complicated and lengthy. “Very often the paperwork turns into one long ordeal,” the Premier said.

Belarusian regulations governing the construction industry will be brought in line with the European documents, Minister of Construction and Architecture Alexander Seleznev said at a session focusing on the performance of design organisations and on construction industry regulatory framework.

According to the minister, this move is needed to enhance the quality of construction works and attract foreign investors. Today a set of technical regulations of the Ministry of Construction and Architecture include about 1,500 documents.

Some 1,320 of them have been adjusted to European standards. The remaining documents will have been finalised by the end of the year. The experience of the European Union and the Russian federation will be taken into account.

The work is underway to improve the regulations in high-rise construction which will help increase the efficiency of fire safety works, development of Minsk.