The Ministry of Land Management today issued new guidelines to all relevant authorities in a move to improve quality and safety of construction, following the recent building collapses in Kep and Preah Sihanouk provinces.

According to a statement dated January 10, Land Management Minister Chea Sophara said under the new guidelines, the ministry strongly forbids the implementation of activities, including the ban on building, repairing, demolishing, or opening a construction of a building without permit.

In the guideline, Mr Sophara forbids builders to carry out construction work or building demolition without a license or certificate provided by the ministry, and prohibits construction work or demolition without responsible engineers.

He also said that workers and people are strongly barred from stay in any building under construction, even if it is temporary and unrelated, people must not enter any construction site.

Mr Sophara noted in the guidelines that any construction without permit from related authorities must not be occupied.

“The ministry urged authorities to take into account five other principles and measures like building permit, repair and demolition, construction permit, construction work, construction and inspection work and specifying construction,” he said.

The move came after a seven-storey building under construction collapsed in Kep city on January 4, killing 36 people, including children, and injuring 23 others.

In June last year, an under construction, seven-storey building also collapsed in Sihanoukville during which 28 people died and 26 were hurt.