Workers at a construction site in Phnom Penh. Hong Menea
Minister of Interior Sar Kheng has renewed his call for municipal and provincial governors to strengthen their management and inspection of building design and construction throughout the Kingdom.
His instruction first came after it was found that some buildings in the capital and provinces were constructed without permits while technical inspection had not been carried out properly.
In a letter dated July 15, Sar Kheng noted that some buildings were being constructed, repaired and modified without permits or contrary to the original plans. He said the practice could spoil the beauty of each respective region, while construction quality and safety was compromised.
Sar Kheng urged the relevant specialised departments to assume greater responsibility in strengthening their management and inspection and to ensure that no construction under their jurisdiction can go on without proper permits.
“You need to expedite the provision of construction permits to project owners in line with the existing principles, formalities and procedures."
“You must keep on promoting the construction sector in the capital, cities and districts through our One Window Service mechanism,” he said, referring to the office set up at each state institution to expedite delivery of public services and eliminate unofficial fees.
“You must disseminate information to construction project owners for them to learn about and respect the laws and regulations related to safety standards in the construction sector,” he said.
During a meeting with the capital’s 14 district governors and heads of relevant departments on Monday, Phnom Penh municipal governor Khuong Sreng instructed the officials to continue their thorough inspection before granting permits for building construction, filling-in of land and sand dredging.
“In the past, there had been much negligence on the part of district authorities. Let me make it clear today that if anything bad happens in areas under your jurisdiction, it is you who will be held accountable, not the Department of Land Management,” he said.
Sreng said on Tuesday that he had instructed competent authorities at all levels to thoroughly review the construction issue to ensure quality while refraining from impeding investors’ construction projects.
“As local authorities, we have enough specialists. Each district in the capital, for example, has its technical inspectors from the offices of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction."
“Our officials work with them in their inspection and make a report. For unauthorised construction, the owners would be required to apply for permits and the officials would continue their inspection to ensure future sustainability,” he said.
