Turkey: Govt to make building completion insurance mandatory for urban renewal works
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Dec 2018
The Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation is preparing legislation to tighten standards in the construction industry for urban renewal projects.
The proposed law will make it mandatory for building contractors to acquire construction completion insurance, according to a report in the Hurriyet newspaper. The goal is to prevent homelessness in case the contractor stops work on rebuilding for reasons including lack of funds.
The new regulations will set out requirements for a contractor’s work experience, professional expertise, technical equipment and financial standing. This is because there have been longstanding issues with construction firms that lack sufficient financial resources and work experience, but that engage in rebuilding works in the expectation of high profits. Contractors are to be classified into nine categories, taking into account their capabilities, and the jobs that they can undertake will be stipulated in accordance with their qualifications.
Turkey’s planning agenda has been focused on urban transformation since the 2000s. The goal is to demolish buildings deemed to be unsafe in the country’s earthquake-prone provinces and to build new structures resilient to quakes. M