TWO CHINESE MALLS HALTED

Wed, 28 Jun 2017 13:15:24 +0000

By BENNIE MUNDANDO

WE have halted the construction of a four-storey building in Kalundu by Shumeite Investments Limited because the developer has failed to provide approved documentation from the Lusaka City Council, the National Council for Construction (NCC) has said.

Meanwhile, the NCC has halted construction works on another Chinese shopping mall in Olympia Park and has threatened to sue the firm if it failed to produce necessary documentation.

NCC executive director Matthew Ngulube told the Daily Nation yesterday that the council halted the projects because the contractor did not meet the benchmarks needed before the project could take off, adding that among other irregularities, Shumeite was not registered with NCC.

“The project was halted on the June 23, 2017, because it has not been registered with the NCC as per requirement of SI No. 39 of 2015. The other reason was that the developer failed to provide the NCC with approved drawings from the Lusaka City Council.

“We are aware that for the Lusaka City Council to approve a project like that, they have to satisfy themselves in all aspects of the project including approving change of use from residential to commercial or whatever the case may be. We also discovered that no consultants (i.e. architects, engineers, quantity surveyors etc.) were available for supervision of the project,” Mr. Ngulube said.

He said the NCC was in touch with the Lusaka City Council (LCC) to ascertain the validity of the approval of the project.

“We are currently in touch with the Lusaka City Council to check various aspects of the project after which we will take a final course of action and in the meantime the works remain suspended,” he said.

Meanwhile, the NCC has halted another Chinese company from putting up a shopping mall in Olympia Park and has threatened to sue the firm if it failed to produce necessary documentation. NCC public relations officer Chama Mwansa told the Daily Nation that inspectors visited the five-storey building under construction by a Mr. Heng Xin on Plot 25084, off Katima Mulilo Road in Olympia Park and among other things found that the contractor and the project were not registered with the council.

“NCC inspectors visited a site owned by Heng Xin situated on Plot no. 25084, off Katima Mulilo Road in Olympia Park and it was noted that the five-storey office block and camp were under construction. It was also noted that the building was being constructed without the use of registered contractors. This was in contravention of Section 21 (1) of the NCC Act, no. 13 of 2003,” Ms. Mwansa said.

She said the section prohibited anyone from carrying out public construction works unless registered by NCC and that the inspectors further noted that the project had not been registered with NCC in accordance with regulation No. 4 of S. I. no. 39 of 2015 which provides that a person awarded with a construction contract needed to apply for the registration of the project within 14 days from the date of the contract.

She explained that the section required that anyone carrying out a project whose value was K500,000 or more needed to register the project with NCC and that since none of the laid down  procedures were followed, construction would not continue until the anomalies were rectified.

“In view of this, NCC directed that Mr. Xin immediately ceases construction works on the project, submit an application for registration with NCC in the appropriate category and register the project as required by law.

“Further, Mr. Xin was directed to engage a local consulting engineer to supervise the work and produces approved drawings and planning permits from the local authority. Failure to comply with these measures will result in legal proceedings being commenced against Mr. Xin,” she said.