The Legislative Assembly approved, with 57 votes, the Law of Creation of the Directorate of Territorial Planning and Construction, with the purpose of updating the model through which construction permits and subdivisions are delivered to reduce times in granting them.
Currently, the authorization of construction permits and subdivisions is regulated in several regulations and requires multiple requirements, delaying the delivery of documents and becoming an obstacle to attracting investment.
Investors must wait around 350 days to obtain all authorizations and with the implementation of the regulations it is intended to reduce this time to 175 days.
The Law will give way to the creation of the Directorate of Territorial Planning and Construction (DOT), an entity that will issue authorizations and construction permits related to the execution of subdivision procedures, works, activities and urbanization projects. Additionally, the DOT will be the governing entity responsible for dictating national land use planning policies related to land planning and use.
One of the purposes of the regulations is to facilitate investment by simplifying procedures, reduce response times to improve the country’s competitiveness, promote economic activity that generates employment and boosts the economy, and reduce costs through intensive use of Information and Communication Technologies.
The new law will facilitate foreign and national investment and will also generate approval in procedures related to construction.
Currently, there are around 80 regulations on construction issues in the country and around 30 institutions that issue criteria on permits for the sector, so he reiterated that the initiative will allow investors to go to a single institution.
Data from the BCR and the Ministry of Economy indicate that the construction sector represents 40% of national investment and according to information from the Salvadoran Chamber of Construction, the sector employs around 200 thousand people annually.