Minister: Stop letting workers sleep inside construction sites
Photo from Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction
- Phoung Vantha
- July 4, 2019 11:32 AM
Sophara says no more shelters for workers in the under-construction building
PHNOM PENH--Cambodia’s land management minister, Chea Sophara, on Thursday issued a verbal order banning construction workers from using the construction sites they are hired to work on as their temporary shelters in order to minimize risk of fatality as shown by a recent building collapse.
The minister made the comment during a meeting on Thursday with representatives of construction companies, contractors and workers. The meeting was held in the wake of the building collapse in Sihanouville, killing 28 people and leaving 26 others wounded. He said construction companies and contractors must make necessary arrangements for their workers to sleep off the site of their work.
“There will be no shelters for workers in the under-construction building. This will not be allowed to happen anymore,” said Chea Sophara, Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning, and Construction.
Before dawn on June 22, a seven-story building still under construction came crushing down on Cambodian workers who were still sleeping on some of its floors.
It was owned by Chinese investors who trying to convert it into a condominium despite having not obtained a proper construction permit. Preah Sihanouk provincial authorities have also faced heavy criticism for their failure to stop the construction from continuing.
Chea Sophara also reminded construction firms and contractors to abide by the regulation on construction, technical standard and professional ethics.
Local authorities, he said, must also strictly implement laws and regulations relating to construction projects and take necessary step to prevent all illegal construction projects from going ahead.
