‘Developer adjacent to collapsed site altered plans’

Mar 24, 2009

THE developer of the site adjacent to a city building which collapsed recently killing four people altered construction plans, Kampala City Council (KCC) has said.

By Jude Kafuuma

THE developer of the site adjacent to a city building which collapsed recently killing four people altered construction plans, Kampala City Council (KCC) has said.

The site on Nasser Road reportedly belongs to William Mukiibi. It was adjacent to Mirembe Arcade owned by Godfrey Kirumira, a property mogul.
The developer did not notify the
authorities before embarking on work at the site, KCC said.

“According to the original plan, the developer was not supposed to excavate the site. He was to start construction using the same foundation of an old building without a basement,” KCC publicist Simon Muhumuza said.

On February 20, KCC gave Mukiibi a letter specifying the technical conditions before construction could start, he said.
“Although we issued the commencement letter to the developer, the structural and site plans had not been approved.

The investor defied our directive of notifying us 24 hours before work started, which allows us to check whether all the conditions had been fulfilled,” Muhumuza said.

According to the commencement letter, the two plans submitted by the developer technically had no problem, but certain conditions had to be fulfilled before construction could begin.

Such a letter is issued after a developer submits the structural and site plans for vetting to the KCC technical committee, committee of works and the council.

Muhumuza denied reports that KCC deploys unqualified engineers to inspect building sites.

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