Eurocodes as the sole standard for safer construction, Josifovski: Housing prices will not necessarily rise

Construction in North Macedonia is currently carried out based on different standards: the old rules from the 1980s and 1990s, as well as the Eurocodes. Experts are calling for the latter to be urgently adopted as the sole standard in order to guarantee safer and more resilient buildings.

To accelerate this process, which has been stalled for 10 years, representatives of the business community and the professional sector held a meeting with institutions today. The implementation of the Eurocodes would not only increase construction safety, but also facilitate the renovation of old buildings constructed before the earthquake. According to experts, the number of such buildings is not expected to be large, and applying the new standards does not automatically mean that housing prices will rise.

“There is a perception among the public that introducing the Eurocodes will impose higher requirements, increasing construction costs and, consequently, housing prices. But this is not necessarily the case. Quality and safety must always be the priority. Buildings that fail to meet the standards will have to be renovated, but we believe there will not be many of them. These are primarily older buildings, perhaps those constructed before the Skopje earthquake, which may require intervention. We do not expect such a need for the rest,” said Josif Josifovski, dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering.

The profession acknowledges that the transition to the Eurocodes comes with obstacles, but considers this step essential in order to adapt to the developments and practices followed in Europe.

“We are aware that this is not a simple process and that many difficulties lie ahead. Nevertheless, we believe that through cooperation and joint support, we can take all the necessary steps. Engineers must adopt the Eurocodes as quickly as possible, while the state must approve them as national standards so that we can keep pace with European processes,” said Andrea Serafimovski, president of the Construction Association within the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia.

The expert community emphasizes that using the Eurocodes would strengthen safety at every stage of the process, from design to the completion of construction. According to them, this would guarantee better-protected buildings for citizens, higher quality and solutions to the problems identified every day in the sector. /tv21