The Lagos State Government has announced it is set to deconstruct the three uncompleted high-rise structures on the site of a 21-storey building that collapsed on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, last November.
The other two structures have failed integrity tests, prompting the State Government to embark on a controlled deconstruction to bring them down.
This development is part of the recommendations by a six-man panel that investigated the collapsed 21-storey structure owned by Messrs. Fourscore Heights.
Furthermore, the panel recommended criminal prosecution of the developer for violating building codes. The land on which the failed structures sit has also been forfeited to the state government by law.
A structural engineering firm, Edge of Design, will dismantle the twin 14-storey and eight-storey structures on the site without causing health or environmental hazards to residents in the neighbourhood.
The deconstruction, which is expected to be completed within 90 days, is to be supervised by relevant government agencies and private stakeholders in the building industry.
Olujimi Lewu, representative of the contractor, Edge of Design, explained the step-by-step process of bringing down the structures. He said that the work would be done without any injury or fatality, and he illustrated how the slabs would be removed until the structures come down.
Gbenga Omotoso, commissioner for Information and Strategy, said safety would be the main consideration in the deconstruction at a press briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Government Secretariat in Alausa.
Read also: Ikoyi collapsed building: Sanwo-Olu to implement panel’s report
Omotoso also said that the deconstruction was agreed upon after extensive consultations with stakeholders, residents, and regulators in the building industry.
The Commissioner assured residents in the neighbourhood of their safety throughout the exercise, noting that measures had been put in place to ensure that the contractor maintains the agreed safety protocols.
Tayo Bamgbose-Martins, commissioner for Special Duties and a civil engineer, assured the public that all reports on the deconstruction would be shared regularly.
Idris Salako, commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, shed light on why the State government took over the property, saying: “Section 74 of the Urban and Regional Planning and Development Laws of Lagos State 2019 (as amended) prescribes that any property that collapses in the State is automatically forfeited to the Government.”
Salako said the State Government had not decided on what to do with the site after the deconstruction.
He said: “When the state government is ready to revive the site, we will let the public know what we want to do with it. However, I can assure you that the land will not be given to any individual developer or converted to unapproved use by the government. The site will be used for something that will benefit the public.”
After the press briefing, the government’s team moved to Ikoyi to hand over the site to the contractor.
No fewer than 45 people, who were mainly construction workers and vendors, died in the incident. Also, Femi Osibona, the developer, died in the collapsed building.
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