SHOPPPING MALL FEARS ALLAYED

By Chris Mahandara.

The National Buildings Inspectorate has allayed fears that work at a multimillion shopping mall in Kisumu city was substandard and could collapse any time.

Reports in a cross-section of the social media indicated that parts of the 17 storey wing of the building had cracked and the contractors were busy trying to reinforce the pillars to prevent it from collapsing.

An official of the National Building Inspectorate at the State Department of Housing, Moses Nyakiongora who led an inspection tour of the Nakumatt Mega Plaza said the ongoing works were as per the structural designs of the project.

Nyakiongora confirmed that six pillars on the left wing of the Sh. 600 million shopping mall complexe were being reinforced to accommodate weight of 62, 000 liter tanks to be placed on top of the tower.

This, he said, was no reason to create fear and panic since it was only a safety measure to ensure that the additional weight does not affect the stability of the building.

“This kind of reinforcement is not strange in fact it is good because for a building of this nature nothing should be left to chance,” he said.

The structural designs of the building were approved nearly 20 years ago, however, the additional works took long to be completed since ownership changed hands.

The additional works features two towers, one comprising of 16 floors while the other 17 floors, and will be accessed through eight lifts and two elevators on the ground floor.

It encompasses four distinct blocks and a middle foyer to ensure additional car parking facilities on the first, second and third floors totaling to a maximum of 400 cars.

Nyakiongora thanked members of the public who raised concern over the safety of the building, adding that investigations were ongoing and the building shall only be given a clean bill of health once the reinforcement is completed and inspected.

In the purge against unsafe buildings, Nyakiongora disclosed that 640 buildings shall be pulled down in Nairobi alone.

Most of the buildings, he said, have been poorly done while others have been erected on public land, sewer lines, fire hydrants and sewerage system.

Once the exercise is completed, he said, the department shall embark on cleaning up rivers in Nairobi to ensure that residents live in a clean environment.

“Our first priority is to first address structural integrity because it has claimed lives,” he said.

He said the exercise shall be rolled out across the country to ensure that the laid down regulations are followed to the latter.