This week, the Government has legislated to close down all construction sites and sites used for shipbuilding and repair.

However, the law permits the Chief Technical Officer to allow a site to remain open under certain circumstances or if there is an emergency which requires certain works to go ahead.

This means, for example, that any works related to the COVID-19 pandemic have been authorised to proceed. Other examples are any works related to critical national infrastructure or works which needed to be completed where not doing so would have safety implications.

It is important to understand that this restriction is a public health measure which is designed to control the influx of persons into and their movement around Gibraltar in order to reduce the potential spread of COVID-19. This policy has already led to a sharp reduction in the number of persons coming into Gibraltar each day.

In general, the CTO’s exemption certificates are for projects where the workforce is permanently based in Gibraltar. Where this is not possible, strict conditions have been set on the movement of construction workers who are not resident in Gibraltar.

The public should note that requests for small projects, such as for home improvements, will not generally be approved as many involve small contractors who tend to employ workers who are not permanently based in Gibraltar.