What is the point of the Maltese construction industry? Is it a speculative entity seeking to exploit and disrupt our islands’ limited resources, or does it have the potential to be a key contributor in positively shaping and improving our built environment (the Valletta Waterfront and the recent Dock 1 embellishment come to mind)?
I strongly believe it should be the latter.
Successive Maltese governments have focused their ministries on the outputs of our construction industry e.g. infrastructure, roads, public works, ports, housing.
To enable the real potential of our construction industry to be realised, the government needs to take a step back and look at the process by which we are constructing our built environment.
It needs to stop treating the construction industry in a disjointed way, such as having the Building Industry Consultative Council (an important advisory forum comprising construction stakeholders) hidden under the ministerial layers of the Ministry for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties, while the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) sits within the remit of the Office of the Prime Minister.
Any construction industry is by its very nature fragmented: think about the number of skills needed to shape our built environment, including clients, architects, engineers, planners, quantity surveyors, contractors and trades, just to mention a few. The government’s organisational approach to our construction industry reinforces this fragmentation.
Any construction industry is by its very nature fragmented
For our construction industry to become a key positive contributor it needs to have greater coherence and be represented at the top government table, to give long-term vision and direction to the policies that shape our built environment.
An integrative construction minister can go a long way to achieve this vision, binding together the different design, planning, tendering, construction and use strands which comprise the delivery of our construction projects. The vision could be achieved through a cross party agreement to develop, legislate and implement a national construction strategy which sets the scene for the next 20 years.
In the development of this strategy the construction minister would need to engage with both the construction industry and the public to understand where we are now, develop a shared long-term vision and devise a plan to help us get there.
Hopefully, the aspects I list below will generate an informed debate about the role a construction minister can play in achieving greater integration and long-term vision within our construction industry.
Making the Maltese government a better construction client
A major client of our construction industry, the government plays a key role in the delivery of roads, schools, health centres, regeneration of derelict areas, hospitals, air and sea ports, power stations and housing. The government has an inherent responsibility to lead by example by establishing clear objectives and briefs, avoiding false-starting projects (the numerous launches of White Rocks being a case in point), setting up the right project teams, ensuring transparent and auditable tendering processes, taking the right decisions along the way and overall offering value for money to the Maltese taxpayer.
Oversee any reforms and increase the effectiveness of Mepa
A planning system helps decide who can build what, where and how. It should make sure that the built environment that our country needs gets built in the right place. A good and effective planning system is essential for our economy, our environment and our society.
Unfortunately, there is a default perception that, within Mepa, this intent is not always achieved in reality. No system is perfect and effectiveness reviews are an inherent aspect of any attempts to continuously improve.
It is fundamental that addressing this perception of Mepa through reforms is a key focus of the construction minister and a cornerstone of the construction strategy.
Implement a building regulation system
Whereas the planning system decides who can build what and where, building regulations exist to set out and regulate minimum design and constructions standards. They can cover aspects such as structure, fire safety, noise, ventilation, energy use, electrics, plumbing, drainage and how a building is accessed. The need for a building regulation system has been discussed for decades but unfortunately was never implemented.
Promote innovation through international knowledge and contacts
As a small country, we are constrained in the extent of in-house construction innovation that our limited resources can generate. This challenge can be turned into an opportunity by promoting innovation through greater international connectivity.
There is a critical mass of Maltese construction expertise working abroad that can be tapped into. The key here is applicability and adaptability, not blind implementation – what works for a country of 50 million people does not necessarily work for one with just under 0.5 million people.
Promote greater health and safety on sites
No one should risk their life simply because they turn up for work. How many times do we need to hear that someone has died on our construction sites?
How many of these deaths could have been avoided through better health and safety management and awareness? How many other serious injuries go unreported?
Supporting our construction industry to achieve a zero harm policy on health and safety should be a cornerstone of the construction strategy.
Bridging the construction skills gap
It is pointless trying to identify our country’s long-term built environment needs without at the same time working with the Maltese construction and education sectors to ensure that the applicable skills to support delivery are in place.
Charles Saliba is an associate with a global built asset consultancy based in the UK. He is also a director of the Malta Business Network in the UK and leads the MBN’s property and development community.