Dar building 2013 condemned finally to be demolished at 1bn/-

  City hires local firm despite earlier reluctance

Minister of Lands, Housing and Human settlement Development William Lukuvi

The Ilala Municipal Council (IMC) has finally contracted a local company, Pat-Interplan to demolish the  condemned 16- storey  building along Indira Gandhi  Street  in  Dar es Salaam at a cost of1bn/-.

 

The development follows a visit by Minister of Lands, Housing and Human settlement Development William Lukuvi to the site last week at which the minister gave the City Council 18 days to demolish the building.

 

IMC Director Isaya Mngurumi told The Guardian in a telephone interview yesterday that the Council had already awarded the local company a tender to pull down the 16 storey building and that IMC is now finalizing the procurement procedures to facilitate the demolition.

 

“Currently experts are doing an environment impact assessment before embarking on the demolition,” he said noting that the cost of the demolition will be compensated by the owner of the building, one Ally Raza.In March 2013, a 14-storey building constructed opposite to the condemned 16- storey building collapsed and killed 36 people and injured many more. 

 

Two months later in May the Ilala municipality issued a one-week demolition notice to the owners of the 16 storey building to demolish it.

 

Former Ilala Mayor Jerry Slaa said that the decision to issue the notice was reached after a meeting with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Lands, Natural Resources and Environment. The notice was sent to Ally Raza, owner of the building and to NHC who own the plot number 1662/75 at Indira Gandhi, Ilala municipality where the building stands.

 

However, the demolition order has taken almost three years now after the building’s owner challenged the IMC decision in Court and lost.

 

The awarding of the tender to a local company is also a matter of contention since the Council had earlier said it is only interested in working with foreign companies since most local ones cannot undertake the demolition.

 

“The nature of the building needs companies to have modern equipment to minimize risk of demolishing nearby buildings and destroying properties,” the Council had argued. No explanation was offered as to . 

 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN