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In April this year, the Saeima approved several amendments to the Construction Law, which have various dates of entry into force. We remind you that from January 1, 2024, regulations will come into force that will reduce the administrative and financial burden on construction specialists, as well as the fragmentation of the construction specialists' field of activity - the building construction supervision specialty is being added to the construction management specialty, while retaining the existing regulatory requirements for construction supervision duties and the role of the construction supervisor in the construction process. Therefore, in the future, construction supervision can be carried out by construction specialists with a certificate in construction management. At the same time, we inform you that in the near future, the names of the construction management specialty fields will also be clarified, naming them construction management and construction supervision.

Construction management and construction supervision are essentially similar fields of activity, and a person providing professional services in these professions has the same qualification requirements. Therefore, there is no justification for dividing the professions, requiring a person to undergo a qualification assessment process in two professions. This is a classic example of excessive bureaucracy, which complicates the process in the construction sector. Now this problem has been solved - the amendments to the law include regulations to combine the certificates for construction management and construction supervision into one, emphasizes Minister of Economics Viktors Valainis.

For construction specialists who have practice certificates in both construction management and construction supervision in one construction field (for example, a certificate in both building construction management and building construction supervision), certificates in construction supervision will be annulled, as construction supervision can now be carried out with a certificate in the respective field of construction management.

For construction specialists who have an independent practice certificate only in construction supervision, the competence assessment institutions will automatically, without a competence assessment, grant a certificate in the respective field of construction management. Meanwhile, until the new certificate is granted, construction specialists with an existing certificate in construction supervision will be able to carry out both construction management and construction supervision in the respective construction field.

At the same time, we note that after the annulment of the construction supervision certificates, construction supervisors will need to re-register as a construction supervisor in BIS construction matters with their existing or newly granted certificate in the respective field of construction management.

The competence assessment institutions will start the aforementioned activities with certificates in January 2024. We invite construction specialists who have valid reasons for temporarily postponing these activities with certificates to contact the respective competence assessment institution; for general questions, please contact the Ministry of Economics or the competence assessment institutions.

Economics Ministry Public Relations Department prese@em.gov.lv