National Council for Construction

The National Council for Construction (NCC) is a statutory body set up under the National Council for Construction Act No. 13 of 2003 with the responsibility of providing for the promotion, development, training and regulation of the construction industry in Zambia. Under the Act, the NCC is further charged with the responsibility of registering of contractors, affiliation of professional bodies or organizations whose members are engaged in activities related to the construction industry and to provide for matters connected with or incidental to the foregoing.

Background

The NCC was born out of the National Policy on Construction Industry (NPCI), a Government policy document, initiated and approved by Cabinet in 1995.

It was recognized that for development to be sustainable and well co-coordinated, it was important for a body representing all issues related to the construction industry to be in place. Thus following broad consultations, among all key stakeholders in the construction industry, a working paper was prepared which culminated in the National Policy on the Construction Industry (NPCI) referred to above. It was actually the NPCI that recommended the formation of the NCC under the Registrar of Societies. With Project Credit from the World Bank (through the Road Sector Investment Programme [RoadSIP]) for the initial two years’ funding (extended for one year), the NCC was finally born in 1998 with actual operations starting in November 1999.

After operating for almost four years without legal and regulatory authority, the National Council for Construction was finally established as a statutory body through the National Council for Construction Act, No. 13 of 2003. The NPCI set out Government’s vision for the industry’s aims and objectives, which are primarily to enhance delivery, value for money, growth of the emerging construction sector, sustainability, increased capacity and a source for employment opportunities.