Tuesday, August 02, 2011 – According to officials in Ministry of Commerce and Industries, construction projects in Afghanistan are implemented based on the construction code of the other countries.
Officials further added, implementation of construction projects based on a proper construction ensure safety of buildings in the country.
In the meantime, Head of transition commission, Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai said, more than 70% of buildings in Afghanistan are built illegally without observing any standards.
Officials in Ministry of Commerce and Industries said, each country has its own construction code which determines type of the buildings, safety, resistance, drainage, view, number of floors, description of materials and even colour of buildings, but unfortunately due to lack of a construction code most of the buildings in Afghanistan are not built based on standards.
The officials also said, most of the buildings will be destroyed upon the implementation of governmental building codes to expand the roads and construct the drainages in the country.
Mohammad Qurban Haqjo, CEO of Chamber of Commerce said, “the buildings constructed without considering construction codes are not based on standards and will be reviewed at anytime, they do not even match the general view of the city.”
In the meantime, Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Head of Transition Commission said, “we have strangled our cities, today even 10% of needed facilities are not available in most cities of Afghanistan. We ourselves have strangled Kabul, 70% of the buildings in Afghanistan are illegal.”
On the other hand, the Norms and Standards Department officials say, a construction code is being worked out with the help of foreign experts and it will be finished in one year. The codes will then be available for construction companies.
Officials in Afghan Norms and Standards Department said, the building codes for architecture, construction, highways and urban development will be enforced soon.
Ehsanullah Niyazi, Director of National Norms and Standards Department said, “we didn’t have codes for construction and roads, the National Norms and Standard Department is closely working with International experts to create construction codes in four areas. Afghanistan will have its own specific codes in one year.”
In the meantime, Afghan Construction Companies Union said, the issue of lack of construction code it will cause technical and economical problems in the future.
Officials of Afghan Construction Companies Union also said, the Norms and Standard Department should also stop the import of low quality construction materials into country.
Head Construction Companies Union, Naim Yasin said, “If there are no codes, it will be very difficult in the future. The Japanese and Germans are using different codes, there should be codes for each system.”
But officials in Norms and Standards Departments say, the quality of construction materials will be monitored and construction materials will be created based on accepted standards once the construction code is introduced and implemented by the government.
According to officials, majority of the buildings will be destroyed upon the implementation of construction codes.
