The new Yangon Region government is reviewing all high-rise building projects nine floors or higher to determine which will go ahead – even those already under construction.
More than 200 high-rise building projects had received varying levels of approval under the previous administration, according to U Than Htay, head of YCDC’s building engineering department.
Over 60 of those projects have already been granted permits to start construction, while more than 120 projects are already being built.
YCDC told these 200 high-rise projects to suspend development on May 14, as the Committee will review high-rise building permits closely through a coordination team to see if the projects correspond with Yangon development plans.
U Than Htay said the chief minister wants to plan Yangon systematically while in office.
“Some projects that can’t stop at once are still running, while some are suspended,” he said.
“The coordination team will be formed to review as many of these projects as quickly as possible,” he said, adding permits will be granted swiftly so as not to delay projects.
“We know that it will be inconvenient for businesspeople if the project takes more time due to the review process, so we will speed it up,” he said.
The coordination team will be made up of representatives from YCDC, the Ministry of Construction, the Myanmar Engineering Society, parliament members and outside experts.
Since taking office the new Yangon Region government has said it will make reviewing construction projects not fully approved by the previous regional government a priority.
Permits for high-rise buildings, a key source of investment in Yangon’s construction sector and YCDC’s precinct, are issued by YCDC and granted according to the Committee’s rules and regulations, or bylaws.
As Yangon’s zoning plan is still in draft form, permits have been granted by updating and amending the Committee’s by-laws, so high-rise building projects have to be reviewed so as not to cause problems for the public, according to U Than Htay.
“The standard adopted in the past might be the same as the standard we adopt now,” he said.
Under the previous Yangon Region government, permits for high-rise buildings of nine to 12.5 floors were discussed and approved by YCDC members at meetings.
If given the green light, these applications were passed on to YCDC’s High-rise Inspection Committee for consideration.
For buildings 13 floors and over, permit discussions went to meetings of the Yangon Region government, who analysed applications and granted the first round of approvals. They were then moved to a high-rise quality control committee for further scrutiny.
YCDC’s building engineering department grants final permit approvals to construct high-rise buildings after the step-by-step permit process.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun
Quoted from mmtimes.
