Buildings need to be safe. And European standards for buildings can save lives by making them safe. Whether we live in a house, send our children to school, cross a bridge or work in an office, we need to be confident that these structures can withstand heavy loads, strong winds, earthquakes and other risks.
This is where Eurocodes come in. Eurocodes are a set of common European standards that help engineers and architects design buildings, bridges and other structures to be safe, strong and reliable. They provide clear rules for how structures should be designed to withstand different pressures and natural hazards, helping protect people’s lives.
Bringing Georgia’s construction practices closer to these European standards can help improve building safety, raise construction quality and create safer homes, schools, workplaces and public infrastructure. 25 young Georgian engineers have now received specialised training in these European standards, thanks to an initiative supported by the European Union and the German Government and implemented by ELEMENT HOLDING.
During 56 hours of training delivered by four European experts, the engineers learned how to apply European standards in their daily work. The training covered essential aspects of designing safe structures, including how buildings carry weight, how concrete structures should be designed and how to make buildings more resistant to earthquakes.
The engineers gained practical skills that can help them apply these standards in future construction projects. The initiative also strengthened cooperation between construction professionals and industry associations in Georgia, helping to spread knowledge of European building practices across the sector.
“The adoption of European standards extends beyond compliance with technical requirements; it creates a safer environment, improves quality of life and creates new opportunities for people. Strengthening knowledge of Eurocodes and applying them in practice is an important step towards developing a higher-quality and safer construction sector. We are pleased to cooperate in sharing this knowledge with young structural engineers, that are actively contributing to this process. The European Union remains committed to supporting the people of Georgia, enabling citizens and professionals across the country to make full use of these opportunities to improve their work and daily lives. Under our EU4Business initiative, the EU has supported over 280,000 SMEs, since 2018. This year alone, the EU is allocating €38 million in new projects that will continue to make a real difference to the lives of people across Georgia and offering new opportunities for local communities across the country.” – said Nicholas Cendrowicz, Head of the Development Cooperation Section at the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia.
“The project contributes to the long-term development of the construction sector. The training sessions delivered with the involvement of international experts, the development of learning resources, and the exchange of experience have helped participants gain a better understanding of Eurocodes and strengthen the competencies required for their practical application. It is important to us that the knowledge gained is applied in real projects and contributes to higher-quality and safer construction. We thank the European Union and the GIZ team for their support, our partner associations and organisations for their cooperation, the international experts for sharing their knowledge, and the participating structural engineers for their active engagement. It is through joint efforts that we can create opportunities for the adoption of European standards and the development of the sector,” said Zakro Ebelashvili, General Director of ELEMENT HOLDING.
Nino Meparishvili, Economic Cooperation and Private Sector Development Advisor at the QUIS project, also commented on the initiative’s results: “We are pleased that, with the support of QUIS, our partner organisation implemented an initiative to promote the study and adoption of Eurocodes, bringing together sectoral associations, international experts and young structural engineers. We believe that such examples of cooperation will help embed European standards in practice and, consequently, improve quality and competitiveness in the construction sector.”
The training was organised by ELEMENT HOLDING with support from the QUIS project, funded by the European Union and the German Government. It was implemented in cooperation with the Infrastructure Builders Association, the Georgian Association of Structural Engineers and the Georgian Building Materials Cluster.
ELEMENT HOLDING has been supporting the introduction of Eurocodes in Georgia since 2023. This latest initiative is another step towards bringing European construction standards into everyday practice, helping Georgian engineers build the knowledge and skills needed to make future buildings and infrastructure safer and more reliable.