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ICC eNews

International Codes Will Help Rebuild Afghanistan

After 23 years of war and isolation, Afghanistan is rebuilding with help from the International Code Council Foundation (ICCF). Code Council Technical Services Contracts Manager Darren Meyers and Norfolk, Virginia, Building Official Lynn Underwood traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan, to meet with representatives from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (IRoA) Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD). The overall objective of this project is to strengthen IRoA construction-oriented ministries in the areas of building safety and fire prevention codes. With the help of inter-governmental, municipal and global development partners, including ICCF, Afghanistan is making progress.

“The IRoA is developing departmental capacity at a deliberate pace,” said Meyers. “What the ICCF team has been doing for two years now is delivering practical code enforcement principles to Kabul for immediate application. And, in turn, the MoUD is doing its level best to create the necessary legal frameworks to support land-use development for public housing and government buildings in the multi-ethnic state.”

Meyers and Underwood worked with 12 engineers from the MoUD National Building Codes and Planning Departments, the Ministry of Interior National Fire Service, and Kabul Provincial Municipality during the two-week visit. The ICCF team mentored engineers on subjects ranging from building codes, fire safety investigations, zoning ordinances and plan reviews, to site inspections for construction defects and how to answer questions from designers and the public regarding the application and enforcement of codes. They also provided advice and support for policy and legal reform and human resource development, clocking 45 contact hours of continuing education in total.

The ICCF team also met with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Infrastructure, Energy and Engineering (OIEE) Vertical Structures (VS) unit and Technologists Inc.,—an Afghan-American design/build coalition working on construction and development projects in Afghanistan—to discuss the complimentary aspects of the Foundation’s efforts. The VS sector utilizes highly skilled U.S. Army Corps and private-sector engineers to monitor and evaluate the construction projects sponsored by OIEE throughout Afghanistan. Jeff Hepler of the USAID VS gave the ICCF team the following encouragement: “I am urging USAID OIEE to independently adopt the I-Codes as mission policy.”

Talks with USAID and associated donor organizations confirmed a favorable view of the Code Council’s proposal for a magnitude increase in funding, which will include translation and publication of the I-Codes into Dari and Pashto, and broader market penetration of the I-Codes for construction projects in Afghanistan.

Technical Services Contracts Manager Darren Meyers (right) of the International Code Council demonstrates procedures for a sprinkler pressure test during his visit to Afghanistan.

Lynn Underwood (right), Building Official for Norfolk, Virginia, discusses handrail safety and inspection details with NBC&R Director Eng. Sharif Dehyar and staff.