Better standards for safer buildings: bringing EU-standard quality to Georgia’s construction sector

Element Holding is working with USAID and the Infrastructure Construction Companies Association (ICCA) to improve the safety of public and private infrastructure in Georgia through the adoption of Eurocodes – the European Union’s construction standards.

Aligning Georgian building regulations with EU standards is important for public safety and is part of Georgia’s EU integration process. By adopting Eurocodes, Georgia will ensure buildings and infrastructure meet modern standards, ultimately improving their quality and durability.

“The introduction of Eurocodes in Georgia is strategically important. This will bring the work of the construction sector to a whole different level. Nowadays we still have the building code introduced during the Soviet Union (i.e., SNIPs), which, of course, is not compatible with innovative technologies and prevents the Georgian construction sector from complying with international standards,” Element Holding CEO Zakro Ebelashvili explained.

“The construction sector is one of the leading sectors of the Georgian economy. Therefore, the modernization of this sector is a powerful supporting element for the development of the country’s economy…The introduction of Eurocodes means a much higher standard of health and safety in the construction process, as well as a much longer life of the premises.”

ICCA Executive Director Ana Sabakhtarishvili underlined how Eurocodes will ensure higher safety standards in the construction industry.

“Eurocodes provide the fundamental principles and requirements for the structural design of buildings and civil engineering works,” she said. “They establish the principles and requirements for the safety and durability of structures. Accordingly, the introduction of Eurocodes will significantly improve the quality of construction and increase the safety of the building.”

The Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia has been introducing Eurocodes in Georgia for the last several years. Currently, the Eurocodes have been translated into Georgian national annexes and Eurocode 0 has already been submitted to the Standards and Metrology Agency of Georgia to be registered as a national standard. Other Eurocodes (beginning with Eurocodes 1, 2 and 7) are in the pipeline.

New training on Eurocodes

To put the standards into practice, however, Georgia needs well-trained, local specialists—which it currently lacks. To address this challenge, on November 30, 2023, Element Holding and the USAID Economic Governance Program signed a cooperation agreement to facilitate the adoption of the Eurocodes by increasing construction industry professionals’ qualifications and raising public awareness about the effectiveness of Eurocodes for their safety and Georgia’s approximation to EU regulations. As part of the partnership, the ICCA will conduct a practical training course on modern construction standards in the field.

“Today, only a few companies in the country work in accordance with the Eurocodes,” Ebelashvili noted, adding that Element Holding was one of the first to adopt the standards. “Now, as the construction industry prepares for the introduction of Eurocodes in 2024, educational activities that provide personnel training are vital. In partnership with the USAID Economic Governance Program and the ICCA, we are running a project where a practical training module on Eurocodes will be created with a foreign international expert to train construction sector workers. The project information campaign will include seminars not only in Tbilisi but also in Zugdidi and Batumi.”

The course will be based on a pilot the ICCA developed earlier with support from the USAID Economic Governance Program. Under that curriculum, which was one of the first organized trainings on Eurocodes, the ICCA trained 36 professionals and created a special program for civil engineering students at the Agrarian University (Free University).

“Prior to this project, there was no experience of teaching Eurocodes in Georgia,” noted ICCA’s Ana Sabakhtarishvili. “The curriculum will be modified for the current project, with the help of an international expert, and it will present a more intensive practical component, which will allow future architects and engineers to get more effective results through work-based learning.”

Aza Chkharchkhalia, a graduate of the pilot course, said the program helped her prepare for her career in engineering.

“The training was exciting and practical. I learned a lot about the Eurocodes and building standards. The Eurocodes-Main Principles course helped me meet colleagues with whom I could build a better future for my country,” she said.

The USAID-Element Holding partnership is part of a larger effort by USAID to work with private sector actors to identify opportunities for market-based approaches that improve Georgia’s economic governance and leadership. USAID is engaging major stakeholders to help shape reforms through private sector partnership (also known as private sector engagement, or PSE), global development alliances, and other Georgian government or donor resources. This leads to more sustainable changes in the long term.

“Through PSEs, we are engaging private sector partners—like Element Holding and ICCA—to work jointly on a common policy objective and contribute resources to achieve this objective. This is a new way to leverage the experience, knowledge, and resources of private sector players to ensure economic reforms meet local needs and support Georgia’s business-enabling environment,” said Natalia Beruashvili, Chief of Party of the USAID Economic Governance Program.

“The PSE cooperation with Element Holdings and ICCA strengthens the private sector’s engagement in critical reforms by enabling pivotal stakeholders in the construction industry to use their expertise to help the sector adapt and implement the standards that will move our economy closer to the EU and improve Georgians lives through better and safer buildings and infrastructure.”