Fundamental Overhaul of Building Regulations with the Builder at the Core Is Essential

In a report by SAMA, during the current post-war period that the country is navigating, still grappling with its consequences, Lahoun Asadi, Director General of the Building Engineering Development Office at the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, pointed to a complete transformation across all sectors of the construction industry, declaring that it is no longer possible to enter this new era with previous regulations and procedures.

He noted that the entire private sector and construction industry stakeholders are facing serious upheavals, detailing the ministry’s initiatives across various domains, including the management office, engineering promotion office, regulations, and infrastructure. He emphasized that the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development had already reached a definitive conclusion even before the war that certain issues required fundamental change.

The War’s Role in Exposing Inefficiencies

The official, referring to the war’s impact on the construction industry, asserted that the conflict revealed many existing processes in this sector are flawed and that conditions are rapidly evolving. According to him, buildings, as one of the country’s manufactured goods attracting substantial capital, must have a clearly defined process for guarantee-ability.

Builder at the Core: A Prerequisite for Quality Assurance

Asadi, stressing that the current guarantee-ability process in the construction industry is ambiguous and difficult due to the involvement of numerous ad-hoc factors, remarked: “If we consider a building as an industry and the industry as the result of a manufacturing process, then there must certainly be a guarantee for its operation, and the producer—meaning the builder—must be responsible for that guarantee.”

The Director General of the Building Engineering Development Office continued: “To achieve guarantee-ability, it is necessary to place the builder as the central and pivotal pillar in the construction industry. Until we can introduce the builder as the main axis, we cannot expect them to guarantee their product in a process fraught with immense complexities.”

Shift in Approach by the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development

He announced that the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development is pursuing this new approach, and to realize it, a fundamental review of current issues appears essential. According to him, a draft regulation has been prepared in this regard, under which the builder will assume central responsibility for all duties, from design to execution and operation.

The official, noting that in this new regulation, the role of inspection and supervision companies is also defined, with the builder as the main pillar, added: “If the government intends to conduct inspection and control, this process will be carried out separately, and inspection companies will play their role in the building.”

The Role of Insurance in Building Quality Assurance

Asadi identified insurance as one of the key pillars of the guarantee-ability process, stating that while insurance is common for other manufactured goods in the country, in the construction industry, due to numerous and ambiguous factors, insurance companies have so far not seriously entered the realm of building guarantee insurance.

According to him, in many countries worldwide, the sole supervisory body is insurance, and this mechanism has been well-tested elsewhere, but in Iran, this structure has yet to take shape.

Emphasis on User Rights and After-Sales Services

The Director General of the Building Engineering Development Office highlighted the rights of the end-user during the use of the building and housing as one of the most critical issues to be respected in the construction industry, stating: “In this regard, the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development has taken initial steps, and new qualifications in the field of supervision are being defined. Additionally, the issuance of new qualifications in the execution domain and guidelines for inspection and control companies are being drafted.”

He also announced coordination with the Standards Organization regarding housing standardization and expressed hope that by centering builders and creating a comprehensive package of engineering services, the guarantee-ability of buildings in the country can be improved.