Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said on Tuesday that investigation had commenced to ascertain the actual cause of the collapsed building located at Citec, Gwarimpa Estate, Abuja to forestall a reccurrence.
Fashola said this in Abuja after he paid a visit to the collapsed building site and other factories and housing sites.
The three storey-building at 444 Crescent, Citec, Gwarimpa District in the FCT, collapsed at about 1 a.m. on August 29.
Fashola said that, though, the collapsed building could be as a result of poor quality control, lack of professionalism, negligence of duty but the ministry would wait for the result of the investigation.
“Investigations have simultaneously commenced to get to the roots of what caused the collapse but clearly, something failed somewhere
“It is quite important that we went to the site, search and rescue operations are still on, it is believed that, maybe ,some people are still trapped inside.”he said.
Fashola who had earlier planned to embark on a tour of the different housing sites and factories before coincidentally the collapse incident occurred said what informed the tour plan was to evaluate the site works there.
The minister also visited Brick City Estate’s Phases1 ,2 and 3 owned byUrban Shelter Ltd., a private developer, LAFARGE Ready Mix Nigeria and Polystyrene Industries Ltd.
At LAFARGE Ready Mix Nigeria, Fashola stated that it was instructive to be at its cement and concrete mixture site in order to be informed of possible reasons for building collapse.
LAFARGE Ready Mix Nigeria, located at Idu industrial Area of Abuja is a member of LAFARGE Holcim, the world most advanced building materials company with improved technology to promote fast frequency.
The company delivers effective and reliable concrete solutions ready mixed cement at project sites based on project time, quality and scope requirement and also renders professional services on design and costing.
“You can see what it takes to put cement together to deliver at site, I think that this is , ultimately, where we will end up as a country.
“I appeal to all those who are mixing cement at sites without technical support to think about industrializing their processes not only for safety but also to take benefit of massive opportunities that lie ahead with construction.
“So those who make cement are not necessary those who use them and is a profession on its own, those who do crude things must begin to think ahead because that business will not last.” he said.
At the site, a slum test was also carried out with already mixed concrete to highlight possible causes of collapse building and how to tackle the challenges.
He also commended the models of houses at the Brick City Estate, along Kubwa highway by Urban Shelter, one of the private estate developers ranging from bungalow, spaces and duplexes.
At the Polystyrene Industries Ltd., a synthetic aromatic polymer made from the monomer styrene, the minister said the country would soon be known as largest producer of the product.
“It was expected that in the next two years,there will be one of such largest petrochemical plants in the country; hopefully some of the components of the petrochemical plant are being produced by DANGOTE Group.
Polystyrene can be solid or foamed and as a plastic it can also be used in a variety of situations, including housing construction and food packaging.
“Instead of waiting for foreigners to bring tents to us we must develop our own capacity, we welcome partnership from abroad but charity must begin at home. ”
Fashola who also called for indigenous patronage noted that the ministry was determined to see what was available in the country and what could be used.
He said that capacity building and standard should also be embraced adding that when there is no standard there would be no continuity and sustainability.
“The housing sector of the ministry has been looking into designs, standard, industrial building, mass building and partnership with the private sector.
“The ministry is also striving to use Made-in-Nigeria technology in order to fulfil the President’s desire to diversify the economy to create more employment,’’ Fashola added.
