Escarlin Pozo
SANTO DOMINGO.- Former presidents of the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors (Codia), Martín Concepción and Teodoro Tejada, stated that a large percentage of buildings in the Dominican Republic are erected without the proper license or approval of plans by the competent authorities.
This was expressed during the third episode of the program “La Ventana de El Inmobiliario”, where they attributed this problem to the “excessive bureaucracy” that persists in the institutions responsible for regulating the sector.
Engineer Concepción indicated that the number of projects started without an approved building permit “is high”.
“I don’t know what percentage of projects are started without having an approved building permit, but it’s high. And that’s due to the excessive bureaucracy in the relevant agencies,” he pointed out.
He explained that, in the first instance, the process falls to the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (Mivhed), along with entities such as the municipalities, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and the Ministry of Tourism.
According to engineer Tejada, with the enactment of Law 160-21, the Mivhed was created, transferring to it the power to grant construction licenses.
When addressing the issue of blueprints, he emphasized that "the vast majority of homes or buildings constructed in this country lack blueprints.".
During the conversation, guided by the founder and director of El Inmobiliario, Ana María Ramos, the engineer Teodoro Tejada also emphasized the lack of state supervision.
“I understand that there is a high degree of illegal construction here because oversight and the State are not focused on that,” he stated.
Building permits can take twice as long as in other countries in the region
This was further supported by Martín Concepción, who pointed out that, on average, a construction project is approved in three months in Latin America, while in the Dominican Republic it can take up to six months, "if you're lucky.".
“The excessive bureaucracy takes months, far beyond a reasonable timeframe, and above the averages in Latin America—a fact I know very well because I was vice president of the Pan American Union of Engineers. On average, a project in Latin America is approved in three months,” the expert explained.
One-stop shop: a step that still doesn't streamline the system
Martín Concepción acknowledged that the implementation of the digital one-stop shop should streamline the plan review process by eliminating paper use and facilitating technical visualization. However, he lamented that in practice this has not reduced response times.
“There is something important that has happened in the last decade and a half, because it didn't originate with this administration, which is the single window system, where projects are submitted digitally. The review time should be as short as possible,” he said.
In that regard, Tejada stated that the one-stop shop has not worked as expected. For him, this tool is practically a “utopia,” since it has neither simplified nor expedited the approval processes.
Mandatory requirement: seismic studies in projects
In other news, engineer Teodoro emphasized the importance of complying with the technical requirements established in the current legal framework.
He pointed out that all projects must have anti-seismic studies since the promulgation of the code, after the Haiti earthquake, and recalled that he was a signatory of that regulation as director of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (Indrhi).
“First, starting in April 2011, the Seismic Code came into effect, which I signed because I was the executive director of Indrhi. The Seismic Code was created after the Haiti earthquake. All projects, starting in 2011, must be analyzed with an anti-seismic study,” he reported.
But do all buildings pass the seismic tests required by law? Find out on our YouTube channel by watching the full interview on "La Ventana de El Inmobiliario". https://youtu.be/GzY1vTCBMgw
Photo: Fidel Pérez.
