Based on this information, write a new short title in English: Ekinci, President of the Chamber of Civil Engineers, shared his views on earthquake safety – BRTK

Abdullah Ekinci, President of the Chamber of Civil Engineers affiliated with the Union of Chambers of Turkish Cypriot Engineers and Architects (KTMMOB), shared his views on the studies carried out after the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes in Turkey and earthquake safety in Cyprus.

In his written statement, Ekinci touched upon the strengthening works carried out especially in schools and drew attention to the difficulties encountered in this process.

Ekinci talked about the efforts initiated to increase the safety of schools in the country after the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes. Emphasizing that these studies are of critical importance for the detection and strengthening of buildings that are not earthquake resistant, Ekinci also brought up the financial and bureaucratic obstacles encountered in this process, and stated that these obstacles negatively affect the speed and effectiveness of the process.

-It is important to increase the earthquake resistance of the existing building stock.

Ekinci also drew attention to the earthquake danger in Cyprus and noted that local governments and relevant institutions should take more comprehensive measures against earthquake risk, and touched upon the importance of increasing the earthquake resistance of the existing building stock in Cyprus.

Ekinci stated that sensitivity about the earthquake resistance of schools increased after the Kahramanmaraş earthquake and that this situation put pressure on the government and that the government quickly sought a solution.

Ekinci noted that in this regard, a road map was drawn to evaluate the earthquake resistance of school buildings, especially in the meetings held within the Chamber of Civil Engineers Earthquake Committee.

Stating that the Chamber of Civil Engineers manages the process in the “Earthquake and Natural Disaster Evaluation and Monitoring Commission” established within the Prime Ministry, Ekinci stated that it is recommended to quickly scan the existing building stock as a first step. Ekinci stated that the risk ranking of hospitals and public buildings, starting from schools, was made with the rapid scanning method, and members of the Chamber of Civil Engineers examined approximately 850 buildings and 300 of them were schools.

Expressing that core samples were taken from the schools to examine the condition of the schools in more detail and the quality of the existing materials were determined by laboratory tests, Ekinci said that, in line with the request of the Prime Ministry, project preparation studies were started in 127 out of 300 schools for further examinations, and since most schools did not have projects, detailed survey studies were carried out, and that these processes noted that it shapes decisions about retrofitting or rebuilding.

-The 200 million TL budget allocated by the government for the strengthening of schools is insufficient.

Ekinci emphasized that the process is progressing very slowly due to bureaucratic reasons and that the 200 million TL budget allocated by the government to strengthen schools is insufficient, and stated that more resources and speed are needed to make schools safe.

Ekinci noted that in the meetings held at the Earthquake and Natural Disaster Evaluation and Monitoring Commission, decisions were made to strengthen the schools to make them resistant to earthquakes or to demolish and rebuild them, adding that if the cost of reinforcement exceeded 40-50 percent of the reconstruction cost, it was decided to demolish the building and build a new one. He stated that the historical importance of the building was also evaluated before the demolition decision was made.

-19 schools were completed in two years

Ekinci stated that the projects of 82 out of 127 schools have been completed, tenders for 40 schools have been made and space delivery has been made in 28 schools. However, Ekinci pointed out that all these processes progressed quite slowly and emphasized that only 19 schools could be completed in two years.

Ekinci also touched upon the financial problems experienced in the construction industry due to inflation. Ekinci stated that the disputes with the contractors negatively affected the projects and that many engineers continued their work devotedly despite not being paid the supervision and consultancy service fees, and stated that these conditions disrupted the strengthening works of the state in school buildings.

Abdullah Ekinci, President of KTMMOB Chamber of Civil Engineers, drew attention to the financial difficulties and payment problems experienced in the projects and stated that serious problems arose in the construction sector due to not making payments on time. Ekinci stated that although the projects were carried out on the old unit costs, the payments were not made on time and the contractors and engineers suffered serious financial losses. Ekinci stated that although the payments were not made, the engineers carried out their supervision and consultancy services with dedication, but many engineers came to the point of abandoning the projects.

-Bureaucratic obstacles in the public sector slow down work

Ekinci also emphasized that bureaucratic obstacles in the public sector slow down the progress of work. Ekinci stated that in a meeting held to solve this problem, officials from the Prime Ministry and the Ministry of National Education stated that the problem would be solved in a short time, but despite the passage of time, no payment has been made yet.

Ekinci stated that there was only a payment made in the past, but a new payment is out of the question for now. Ekinci noted that this situation seriously negatively affects the speed and effectiveness of the projects.

Ekinci noted that in line with the earthquake regulations that have been implemented since 2007 and legalized in 2015, old buildings should be evaluated according to current conditions and strengthened if deemed necessary. However, emphasizing that the necessary steps were not taken in time on this issue, Ekinci stated that the reinforcement works should not be limited to schools only, but the same approach should be applied to public and private buildings.

Ekinci noted that the strengthening of non-earthquake-resistant buildings can be done in the same way as it is done in schools and other buildings.

Emphasizing that such strengthening works should be widespread in both the public and private sectors, Ekinci stated that analyzes based on scientific data are among the main things that need to be done for earthquake safety. Stating that municipalities have important duties in this process, Ekinci said that local governments should work actively to increase the earthquake resistance of buildings.

Expressing that the state and municipalities need to be more careful in order to build environmentally friendly and durable structures in Cyprus, Ekinci noted that the contributions of local engineers are of great importance for sustainable and earthquake-safe structures. Ekinci also stated that such projects should be designed considering not only structural safety but also environmental impacts.