In conjunction with the Ministry of Development’s (MoD) Customer Care Day, the launching of the Authority for Building Control and Construction Industry Division (ABCi) took place yesterday at the premises of the MoD.

Officiating the ceremony was the Minister of Development, Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman.

In his speech, the minister outlined the roles and objectives of ABCi as well as the procedure of permit application through the department, “With the establishment of ABCi, it is hoped that the procedures relating to the application of building and land development for housing, commercial and industrial purposes can be coordinated and considered more promptly.

“The establishment of ABCi is a result of the ministry’s concern regarding the complaints and dissatisfaction of land developers, be it the private or those for commercial purposes, on the issue of the lengthy permit approval procedure.

“Before August 14, 2010, the land development procedure took 52 days to complete while the building construction development process took 54 days. But after the application process of development permit and occupational permit were taken over by ABCi, the time frame has been reduced to 24 and 26 days respectively. Although it is understood that the time period was necessary for thorough investigation on applications to prevent any conflicts with the existing code of development, I hope the process for both procedures can be further reduced to 14 days in order to provide the public and private sectors with a more efficient service as is in line with the government’s effort in facilitating the ease of doing business in the country,” he added.

ABCi is a joint establishment of four units – Construction Planning and Research Unit, Bumiputra Guidance and Development Unit (BGDU), Housing Control Unit, Housing Development Department and Development Control Unit (DCU).

According to the minister, applications must go through the appointed ‘Qualified Persons’ (QP), which consist of qualified architect and engineers, and should the plan and applications fail to comply with regulations, they will be returned to QPs for further inspection and correction.

The minister also reminded QPs that the ministry will not hesitate to take action should they fail to demonstrate the required level of professionalism and performance that could affect the TPOR process and slow down the production of occupation permits.

“The relevant QPs and ABCi parties should also be considerate of the impacts of their construction development towards surrounding areas. There are cases where construction has led to flooding and landslides, thus affecting the tranquillity of neighbouring areas.”

During the event, a guide book on ‘Contractor and Supplier Procedures for Registration’ and a registration book for contractors on ‘Contractor Directory – May 2011 Edition’, as well as the ABCi Services Audio ‘Video-Clip’ for the Development Control Unit and ABCi’s official website were launched by the minister. ABCi’s website can be accessed through MoD’s website; http://www.mod.gov.bn. An ABCi roadmap on the procedures and its consultations for the public was also introduced.