The Central Municipal Council (CMC) has called on the authorities to prepare new guidelines for the construction sector in view of the aftershocks of the Iran earthquakes felt in Doha on Tuesday for the second time in a month. Jassim bin Abdullah Al Malki, CMC’s vice chairman and head of its services committee said the CMC had discussed this issue five years ago and submitted its proposals to the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning. He said there should be new standards and specifications for highrise buildings to increase their resistance against natural calamities, especially earthquakes. This should be made part of the Qatar Construction Code, he added. Al Malki said the West Bay area housing scores of skyscrapers should be given special attention while preparing the new guidelines. Meanwhile, an ordinary session of the CMC on Tuesday discussed the request of a citizen who sought CMC’s support to break the monopoly of Asians in the transportation sector. Heavy vehicles and heavy equipment like cranes and earthmovers are mostly owned by expatriates of an Asian country and they are being operated in the name of Qatari citizens, Hamad Salem Al Nabit told the CMC session. These people are monopolising the entire transportation sector and making huge profits. Since they send all the money home it also has a negative impact on the Qatari economy, he added. He demanded that the government set up a special office to regulate the transportation sector, especially trucks and other heavy vehicles. “I had already made this appeal to several entities, including Qatar Chamber and the Ministry of Interior. In 2011, the Ministry of Interior had formed a committee to deal with this issue,” said Al Nabit. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/233486-quake-triggers-calls-for-new-construction-rules.html

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