The Ayawaso West Municipal Assembly (AWMA) has assured the public that the uncompleted Villaggio building near the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange is safe.
The assurance follows a viral video showing building materials falling from part of the structure during a heavy downpour on Wednesday afternoon.
Speaking at a press conference, the Municipal Chief Executive, Dr. Michael Mensah, said the Assembly had inspected the building together with the Engineering Council and found no signs that it was at risk of collapsing.
“We were there with the Engineering Council and there’s nothing wrong with the building. The building is not going to come down and there are holdings around the building; that place where the blocks actually landed were restricted. So, there was nobody there to be affected. The public can be assured that there’s no fear at all; they can go and do their businesses, and nobody will be affected,” Dr. Mensah said.
He explained that the area where the blocks fell had been blocked off and was not open to the public when the incident happened.
Dr. Mensah said the Assembly had advised the contractor to lay blocks to a height of only one metre at a time and allow the concrete to dry and become strong enough before continuing work.
“Per our recommendation to the contractor, we indicated that the blocks should be laid up to one metre and allow the concrete to cure properly before they continue working,” he said.
The Assembly has also asked the contractor to install safety nets around the building, especially on the side where the materials fell.
The safety nets are expected to help prevent falling blocks from damaging nearby properties or injuring people if a similar incident happens again.
“We’ve also indicated that there should be safety net around the building, especially around that side, so that it will prevent further falling of the blocks. It is important to provide, safety nets around that space so that it would prevent the blocks from destroying any property around, if that should happen again,” he said.
