Building collapse: FCTA to establish material testing lab

The FCT Administration has said it is working to establish a material testing laboratory  to ensure that all on-going construction works in the Territory meet requisite integrity.  FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Musa Bello made this disclosure at the weekend while receiving Managing Director of the Ahmadu Bello University Consultancy Services, Professor Suleiman Karwai paid him […]

The FCT Administration has said it is working to establish a material testing laboratory  to ensure that all on-going construction works in the Territory meet requisite integrity.
 FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Musa Bello made this disclosure at the weekend while receiving Managing Director of the Ahmadu Bello University Consultancy Services, Professor Suleiman Karwai paid him a visit.
The Minister said the establishment of the Laboratory has become necessary to enable the Administration regularly and independently monitor all on-going projects across the Territory to avoid any mishap during and after constructions of public and private projects and  would give the government a second means of independent check on material used for houses under construction either privately or publicly owned as well as other infrastructural development like bridges and culverts by ensuring quality control.
Bello said that the fact that Abuja has never experienced collapse of any public building or public infrastructure shows that the FCT Administration that has since been handling such projects has maintained strict supervision with the highest quality standard.
He said although the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) solely supervised the recent collapsed building in Gwarinpa II District of Abuja, the FCT Administration would use that unfortunate incident to correct so many things in the industry in the Territory.
He said, “The Gwarinpa building collapse though developed by a private person and wholly supervised by the Federal Housing Authority, it is an indictment of the entire system”.
The Minister revealed that the FCT Development Control Department will soon embark on post development audit of completed houses in Abuja to ascertain that what was earlier approved was not changed afterward.
Malam Bello said that the FCT Administration would also embark on registration of all Material Testing Laboratories operating in the Federal Capital Territory individually or corporately owned and also step-up surveillance of their facilities for effective control.
Earlier, Professor Suleiman Karwai assured  that the university would  continue to partner with the FCTA in the areas of training, exchange expertise in civil engineering and other infrastructural development know how.