| Danial Norjidi |
THE topic of ‘Dealing with Construction Permits’ took centre stage at the Design & Technology Building on Tuesday evening as DARe (Darussalam Enterprise) held its 8th dialogue session.
DARe conducted the dialogue with the Ministry of Development, and it saw the participation of 70 attendees consisting of government agencies, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and interested individuals.
The dialogue’s topic, ‘Ease of Doing Business – Dealing with Construction Permits’ was highlighted in a presentation by Awangku Md Fakhruddin bin Pengiran Haji Ismail, Architect at the Authority for Building Control and Construction Industry (ABCi), Ministry of Development.
In his presentation he spoke on three specific areas, beginning with the five steps in obtaining a construction permit.
As he explained, the first step is to obtain planning permission from the Town and Country Planning Department, which takes 14 days.
The next three steps are to obtain development approval (14 days), obtain a permit to commence development (one day) and obtain occupation permit (seven days), all of which is from ABCi.
The fifth step he shared was to obtain water connection, which is from the Department of Water Services.
After discussing the five steps, Awangku Md Fakhruddin spoke on the Building Control Order.
Awangku Md Fakhruddin bin Pengiran Haji Ismail, Architect at the Authority for Building Control and Construction Industry (ABCi), Ministry of Development, speaking at the event
The question and answer session under way during the dialogue. – PHOTOS: DANIAL NORJIDI
“All building works, except those that are minor and exempted under the Schedule in the Building Control Order, will require building plan approval from the authority. Application for approval of building works shall be made by the Qualified Person (QP),” he said in his presentation.
The Building Control Order, he explained, became effective on November 1, 2015 and was introduced to clearly outline responsibilities, including liability of QPs to ensure buildings meet safety standards.
He then spoke on what he called the “development checklist”, where he touched on the Occupation Permit (OP).
The OP is a requirement under the Building Control Order, 2014 to ensure a building is safe for occupation and use. The Order focuses on building aspects rather than business activities.
On when an OP is needed, he explained that if someone is planning to start a business and wants to know whether they need an OP or any other building-related requirements before starting their business, they should run through eight questions.
These eight questions ask whether the applicant plans to amend or change any (1) space, light and ventilation requirement; (2) structural requirement; (3) constructional requirement; (4) fire requirement and fire protection system; (5) electrical installation or increase of power capacity; (6) water, sewerage, sanitary, drainage or plumbing system; (7) gas piping and detection system; (8) use of building, road system or car parking requirement.
“Therefore, whether a business needs an OP depends on the building itself and any changes made to it,” it was explained in the presentation. “There is no straightforward answer but if the business is in a building with a valid OP and no changes to the building are needed for the new business it is less likely an OP is needed.”
“On the other hand, if the business is in a new building under development or where changes to an existing building are needed it is more likely an OP is needed.”
“If in doubt, you should consult a Qualified Person, either a professional engineer or registered architect, or ABCi to advise you accordingly,” he added.
A question and answer session then followed, in which Awangku Mohd Fakhruddin joined a panel comprising the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Development, Dato Paduka Eddie bin Dato Paduka Haji Sunny; DARe’s CEO, Soon Loo; Secretariat from Ease of Doing Business, Energy and Industry Department, Prime Minister’s Office (EIDPMO), Awangku Mohd Abdul Aziz bin Pengiran Ali Hassan before the event came to a close.
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