Dubai Municipality’s new initiative that allows contractors to design and supervise metal structures for industrial projects without appointing consultancy offices has reduced the construction costs by 12 per cent and the project licensing period by 33 per cent, said a top official.

Dawood Al Hajiri, the director general of Dubai Municipality, was speaking at a ceremony to honour the companies involved in the design and implementation of the metal structures in the emirate.

During the ceremony, one of the companies that obtained the first such building permits presented its experience.

Al Hajiri said that it is one of the many initiatives that will be launched by the municipality in a bid to simplify the procedures and reduce the cost of building and encourage investment by creating a stimulating environment with easy and fast procedures.

According to this initiative, the contractors were allowed to submit directly through the electronic program for building licenses to obtain a building permit for industrial buildings, which does not exceed the height of ground and first floors, to design and implement the project without the presence of a consultant so that the company takes up the job of the consultant of obtaining building permits from the Dubai Municipality and oversee the progress of work in the project.

He pointed out that this initiative aims at reducing the steps of the new building permit procedures, which the emirate's Building Permits Procedure Development Committee has already launched in order to enhance international competitiveness in the ease of issuing building permits as per the World Bank guidelines to make Dubai a source of global best practices.

Al Hajiri said the move was aimed at enhancing investment, reducing costs, strengthening the economic competitiveness of Dubai as well as the continuous government support for the investment environment in the emirate, which will have positive effects on all segments of the society, directly and indirectly.

"This initiative is only the first step within the Municipality's road map to support investors and reduce the cost of construction," he added.

Al Hajiri pointed out that the stimulating investment environment brought by this initiative will save financial cost and enhance speed of completion of construction projects with steel and industrial buildings in particular to meet and keep up with the pace of development in the field of construction.

"The municipality has devoted its efforts to the success of this initiative and study its results on the local market, in terms of activating the design and implementation activity of the construction companies of metal structures," he added.-TradeArabia News Service