YENAGOA – The Bayelsa State Government on Friday warned contractors handling various building projects in the state against substandard jobs to avert the collapse of such projects.
Mr Lawrence Ehwrudjakpo, the state Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure Development, issued the warning while fielding questions from newsmen in Yenagoa on execution of high quality jobs.
He said that poor quality projects most often led to the collapse of buildings after their completion.
Ehwrudjakpo identified substandard building materials, such as blocks and poor mixture of sand, chippings and cement, as the major causes of building collapse in many parts of the country.
“We have visited the ongoing House Officers quarters project, Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa, but we are not satisfied with the contractors’ mixture of sand and cement.
“I have inspected some of the walls and it was not okay by me; I have also asked the contractor to pull those parts down and ensure that they execute good job.
“In their concrete mix, we are not comfortable with that, because we do not want a situation whereby a building will be completed today, tomorrow it will collapse.
“Life is so good and we do not want to play with it. I urge the contractors to improve on their concrete mixture.
“We have not had incident of building collapse in the state; so, if the concrete mix is 1-2-4 or 1-3-6, let them maintain the mixture. [eap_ad_2] “All we want from them is good and quality job that can stand the test of time,” he said.
On the importance of the house officers’ quarter, the commissioner said the aim was to alleviate difficulties on accommodation among the health officers on Housemanship.
“We have also inspected the first Fly-over Bridge, we are quite impressed with the pace of work on the bridge; I believe by the end of August it will be completed.
“On Yenagoa-Oporoma road, the piling of the bridge at Igibiri is completed; sand filling has gone towards Agobiri; we have also visited the state archive centre and work is also in progress,” he said.
Ehwrudjakpo explained that the archive centre would serve as a reference centre for the people’s heritage.
“I am urging the contractor to know that our terrain needs stronger concrete and blocks in terms of construction of houses and bridges, among others.
“Quality building should begin from foundation; make use of standard materials and avoid anything that can cause collapse and damage,” he said. (NAN)[eap_ad_3]
