The strategy for digital transformation of the construction sector 2030 is on the final stage

Strategy for digital transformation of the construction sector 2030 was presented at a meeting of the national working group for its development. Its preparation is at the final stage, the regional ministry announced.

The final version of the document is expected to be published for public consultation in early December. The working meeting at the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works was opened by the Deputy Ministers of Regional Development and Public Works Polya Zaneva-Dimitrova and Desislava Georgieva.

All EU member states are working hard to transform their construction sectors, and the national policy of our country is no exception, commented Deputy Minister Polya Zaneva-Dimitrova. Certain strategic documents and decisions of the Council of Ministers have already been developed, among them Digital Transformation of Bulgaria for the period 2020-2030, Integrated Plan in the field of energy and climate of Bulgaria 2021-2030, National Plan for Recovery and Sustainability 2022-2026 (NPVU). The work on the development of the strategy began already in 2020 with the formation of the working group for the introduction of building information modeling (BIM) for the entire construction life cycle, she explained.

The Digital Transformation Strategy is an important element of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. A reform that will unlock investments that can be made in the construction sector from the point of view of digitization, said Deputy Minister Desislava Georgieva. She recalled that digitization is one of the main pillars of the National Economic and Social Policy, and the EU is moving towards a greener policy in every sphere of public activity.

The national strategy for digital transformation of the construction sector 2030 is aimed at the digitization of the entire industry. The aspiration is to achieve more efficient administrative services, higher quality of construction, faster pace of design and construction, reduced energy consumption during the implementation of construction processes and when managing already created material assets, as well as reducing the ecological footprint, which the sector leaves on nature.

The long-term goal of the digital transformation is, through digitalization and management of the built environment, to effectively contribute to the implementation of European and national policies for green, digital, sustainable ecosystem, digital economy, energy efficiency, circular economy, climate neutrality, sustainable use of resources, demographic changes, attractive jobs, education, training.

A short-term goal of the strategy is to create conditions for digital transformation of the construction sector to increase its efficiency, competitiveness and sustainability, as well as to build a more attractive investment environment, providing equal opportunities for all, including equality of women and men.

The strategy analyzes the sector in terms of the economic environment, labor market, technological environment, regulatory framework, technological aspects, political factors. It is based on data from the latest report of the European Commission, which monitors the construction sectors in the member states and makes their comparison and analyses. It is also based on analyzes provided by the contractor of the SIM implementation project.

It is necessary, for example, to build centralized systems for information exchange, a common database environment, electronic systems for administrative services and a legal framework defining standards and rules for working with electronic services and the systems that enable them.

The implementation of digital technologies, the creation of databases and the digital transformation of enterprises are the guidelines that the EC outlines to achieve the goals of the strategy. Digital technologies are currently being developed in terms of data collection, process automation and digital data and analytics.

But for all this, it is important to have a legal base, specialists with digital skills, secure digital infrastructure and digitization of public services as prerequisites for achieving digital transformation.

The working group includes representatives of the Ministries of Regional Development and Public Works, Environment and Water, Education and Science, Economy and Industry and e-Government. Experts from the Road Infrastructure Agency, the Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre Agency, the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, municipalities, branch and scientific organizations, higher education institutions, etc., also participate in it.