Intense construction activity and a series of changes in building, spatial planning and environmental legislation over the last two years have brought entirely new challenges. On 3 and 4 September 2020, we addressed them at the 2nd Construction, Spatial and Environmental Conference entitled: Construction as a strategic activity for the country and The builder as a profession of the future. It was held in Ljubljana at the Domus Medica auditorium and online.
The conference was organised by Tax-Fin-Lex together with the Chamber of Engineers of Slovenia and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, and supported by a number of other partners.
The opening speaker was Minister Jernej Vrtovec, Ministry of Infrastructure of the Republic of Slovenia, and representatives of other key ministries also presented their development strategies: State Secretary Robert Rožac (Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning of the Republic of Slovenia), State Secretary Dr. Jure Gašparič (Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia), and the Director of the Office Josip Mihalic from the Government Office for Cohesion of the Republic of Slovenia.
We prepared a rich and high-profile event with 21 speakers, answering several sets of questions. The thematic areas of the conference were: strategy in construction – presentation of legislative challenges by sector, economic impact of construction on other sectors, education and employers, challenges and opportunities for urban planning, environment and protected areas, issues for investors, designers, supervisors and contractors, contracts, regulations, public procurement, expertise and dispute prevention, and foreign practices.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry ZGIGM also participated in the conference, presenting the international initiative Construction Blueprint.
The key challenges for the Slovenian construction sector until 2025 were discussed by:
- mag. Jože Renar, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia – Chamber of Construction and Building Materials Industry (ZGIGM)
- Nataša Kristan Primšar, Head of MIC at the Kranj Secondary School Centre
- mag. Črtomir Remec, Director of the Housing Fund of the Republic of Slovenia, President of the Engineering Chamber of Slovenia
During the breaks, we invited the participants to visit 5 information boards of the Construction Blueprint project, where the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Kranj Secondary School Centre presented the international initiative #ConstructionBlueprint.