Minister Plevneliev discussed the problems of the Construction sector with the Management Council of the Bulgarian Construction Chamber

At a work meeting today, the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Rosen Plevneliev and his deputies Georgi Pregjiov and Ekaterina Zaharieva discussed the problems of the Construction sector in Bulgaria with the members of the Management Council of the Bulgarian Construction Chamber.
Because of the situation of economic crisis in our country, the construction firms, enrolled in the Register until September this year, are about 30-35 % fewer than the same period in 2008. The expectations are that till the end of the year about 35 000 people. Minister Plevneliev declared that in order for the consequences of the crisis to be lessened, the accent will be put on projects’ development. In this way, the firms will start working in the moment there are ready projects, with secured funding.
Full support was expressed on the side of the Bulgarian Construction Chamber for the decision taken by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works to execute only contracts that are financially secured.
The expected condition of the Construction sector will be worst in February and March next year. There will be a possibility for a greater employment in April, when some projects of the Operational Programs are expected to get realization. The Construction sector is facing the problem of lack of euro-codes, by which construction works will be executed after March 2010.
Mutual agreement was reached during the meeting that changes in the regulations are needed that are to secure the better regulation of the construction sector, its higher transparency and securing of access for more firms to the construction process. The propositions made are all connected with the Laws of Territorial Planning and for Public Orders.
The ideas discussed are for creating new model contracts to divide the construction works into lots, in order to provide a better access for more companies. The public orders assignment procedures’ improvement and the improvement of the criteria for participants’ selection, the establishment of registers of consultancy and designing firms in Bulgaria aiming at securing higher quality of the activities executed by them, were a part of the Construction Chamber’s suggestions.
The participants in the meeting discussed the role of the National Construction Control Directorate in the construction process, as it was proposed a clear distinction to be made between the rights and the duties of all the parties engaged in the construction works.
Minister Plevneliev, his deputies and the members of the Management Board of the Construction Chamber discussed the possibility for establishing a crisis headquarters. It has to prepare a thorough analysis of the condition of the construction sector in this moment, to clarify the problems,   whose solution needs to be worked out and the relations between its representatives need to be optimized.
All the Chamber’s suggestions, presented at the meeting with Minister Plevneliev and his team, will be taken into consideration and actions will be undertaken accordingly.