Colombia’s housing minister has delivered a bill to Congress that will ensure buildings have the highest quality standards to prevent tragedies similar to that which Medellin has recently experienced, reported Caracol Radio on Monday.
Housing Minister Luis Felipe Henao said that the bill on safe housing will seek, among other things, an amendment to the curatorial policies to improve investor confidence. The initiative comes on the eve of the final implosion of the “Space” building in the city of Medellin.
This building complex collapsed in October last year after which inspectors found that other buildings in Colombia’s second largest city were showing similar problems that led to the Space collapse.
MORE: Medellin apartment building collapses; 11 missing and feared dead
“The new project has significant reforms to prevent what happened in Medellin happening again in the country. The goal is to work towards a responsible development process for the city and act as a guarantee for future new home buyers. In its content, among other things, is the move to make curators more efficient and rigorous in their processes,” said the minister.
The bill raises the issue of the technical supervision of projects. This will eliminate municipalities or curators authorizing builders themselves to control the execution of the works. Supervision will be independent with external reporting directly to the insurance company which will give greater emphasis on site supervision. The independent supervisors will assess the log of work, material control, control over design plans and more.
MORE: 30 Medellin buildings under inspection for structural problems after ‘Space’ towers collapse
“We will not give up on getting Colombians full guarantees on their housing investments and to avoid reliance on the construction sector which was so negatively affected by cases such as the Space building in Medellin,” concluded the Housing Minister.