Focus on seismic rehabilitation

The recent wave of earthquakes in the south of Romania has brought back to the attention of the Bucharest authorities the pressing issue of anti-seismic reinforcement of vulnerable buildings. In this regard schools and hospitals are a priority on the Government's agenda. The Minister of Development, Cseke Attila, has  announced that a bill has established the deadline for the completion of the rapid visual assessment in order to establish possible seismic risks for of all buildings that are part of the educational and health sector, namely November 1, 2024.

For blocks of flats, the proposed completion date is June 1, 2026. The Minister of Development has also said that another proposal included in the bill stipulates that the decision of the owners' associations regarding anti-seismic reinforcement can be given by a quorum, not just by unanimous agreement of all the owners. Cseke Attila has explained that the rapid evaluation of buildings can be started as soon as the law comes into force, without having to wait for the set deadlines.

This week, the Romanian Government is also analyzing a program for the rehabilitation of schools affected by the recent earthquakes in Oltenia. Named "Safe and healthy schools", the plan provides for the consolidation of all school buildings included in the seismic risk category 1. The introduction into the government program will be based on the list communicated by the Ministry of Education, and the beneficiaries of these investments are the local public administration authorities. The Ministry of Education presented, a few days ago, a detailed situation of all the buildings in the country that belong to educational institutions, whether or not they fall into a certain risk group, and announced that it will update the list every Friday. Buildings considered dangerous will be prioritized for consolidation and rehabilitation and the financing will be provided by the state budget. All categories of expenses are eligible under this program,  except for consultancy, the Minister of Development, Attila Cseke, said.

"We will create a new governmental program for the consolidation of  all school buildings that are in the 1st category of seismic risk.  This program will provide for the possibility of including other educational buildings as well, when for some of them there will be an expert report classifying it in the seismic risk category 1. We will also propose to reduce the deadlines for issuing the urban planning certificate, notices, agreements, and the building permit  respectively".

The Minister of Development has stressed that the authorities in charge of schools and hospitals that do not obseve the set deadlines are to be sanctioned. (MI)