[WATCH] Building contractors will have to be licensed by the end of the year

By the end of the year, all contractors need to be registered and to have an operating license, Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg said. Failing this, contractors would not be able to operate.

He announced that a contractor would be able to apply for registration next Wednesday. The register will include all the contractors’ details, such as their experience, their technology and their expertise.

“Unfortunately, we never had a register underlining the people who are able to render a service in the construction industry. From next Wednesday, the call for registration will initiate and the register will eventually be in the form of a directory enacted by the Building Regulation Office with the cooperation of the Malta Developers Association,” Borg said.

At a press conference inside the Infrastructure Ministry’s office in Floriana, Borg said that the government was working on a draft legislation to enforce the licensing of contractors.

“The register will eventually be in the form of a classification. This is not the end of the reform, but with a register, in place, we are ensuring that the construction industry is under some element of regularisation. In the coming weeks, contractors will also be asked to apply for an operating license. By the end of the year, a contractor will be bound to having a license. Otherwise, he would not be able to operate,” Borg said.

He added that the legal notice enforcing the new construction regulations had been welcomed by all parties and that 900 construction sites across Malta were adhering to the new rules.

Chamber of Architects President Simone Vella Lenicker said that the register was a welcome addition to the industry.

“This was an important step because for years we had an unsustainable situation where architects were regulated but contractors were not. Finally, it’s happening. This is just one step in pushing for this industry to slip into the 21st Century and to be in line with international practices,” she said.

MDA President Sandro Chetcuti, also present for the press conference, described Minister Borg as a doer and that while there had been a lot of talk about much-needed regulations, the government was finally implementing its counsel.

“The MDA will open its office on Wednesday and will welcome all willing contractors in Malta to come and register their practice with our guidance. We want the industry to be cleansed and this is the chance it now has to finally regularise itself,” he said.