GAM urges contractors to follow construction regulations

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAN) on Thursday urged contractors to abide by its building codes, and requirements to safeguard public safety and avoid damage of private and state-owned properties.

It also advised people starting construction projects of apartment buildings or other properties for the first time to visit its offices to be acquainted with the standard procedures and prerequisites for commencing a construction project of whatever nature, according to Raed Haddadin, head of the municipality’s construction monitoring department.

“We call on people, especially those involved in construction projects for the first time, to visit GAM’s construction monitoring department to learn about the process and the laws and regulations,” Haddadin told The Jordan Times.

He underlined that owners of construction projects and contractors who fail to abide by the municipality’s building regulations will face legal sanctions and bear the costs of any damages to private and public properties.

 “Abiding by municipal regulations protects the public and properties on one hand and also saves contractors and property developers hefty costs if anything goes wrong on the other,” Haddadin highlighted.

Part of a street in Marj Al Hammam located next to a construction site collapsed on Tuesday, officials said, noting that, although the incident did not result in any injuries, it damaged a main water pipe that supplies Marj Al Hammam with water.

“The pipeline caved in during drilling at the site. Most of water subscribers did not receive their share of water under the weekly distribution programme, the pipe got damaged and thousands of cubic metres of water were wasted as the pipe burst, creating a huge pond,” an official at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation told The Jordan Times.

GAM and the Civil Defence Department cooperated in pumping out the water from the construction pit, according to Haddadin, who noted that a public safety higher committee demanded that a study on the project be submitted, detailing the expected “hazards” during the construction of the project and plans to address them if they occurred.