MHCC Complex Safe, Reassures Whippy
‘The building is structurally safe and fit for its purpose’
People were yesterday reassured that MHCC Complex in Suva is safe. The reassurance comes after new claims posted on social media that there were cracks in the carpark supported by props.
Daniel Whippy, one of the directors of W.R. Carpenters South Pacific Limited, the parent company, told a press conference that shoppers did not need to worry about the Tower construction and MHCC was safe for all.
“The building is structurally safe and fit for its purpose. We can assure all the shoppers that there is no need to be alarmed about what all is happening. It is safe and they can always walk into MHCC and shop,” Mr Whippy said. He said they had stopped work at the Tower due to safety reasons and the columns were settling because it was located next to a creek. “The works are up to level 15 now. The Ministry of Local Government wanted us to get an independent engineer to come and conduct their analysis, and this will happen early next year.
“At the moment they have a local independent engineer that is assessing the building on a daily basis.”
He highlighted that out of the 115 columns that are in the building, there are four that are settling which are located on the Tower side.
“We want to repair this before they continue with the construction works.
“We had already planned to construct a 16-storey Tower and the foundations were put in place for the Tower when the MHCC was being constructed in 2005. We hired Tonkin Taylor engineers to conduct a peer review for the tower and the MHCC.
“They had conducted the peer review of the structures and in their review they had stated that the foundations were adequate. Based on the review, we had constructed the Tower. “During the construction stage, we had experienced the popping of tiles. Following that, we appointed surveyors to monitor the levels of the structures from the ground level to the fourth level.
“There are some sections of the building being closed off because we have commenced the remaining works. By early January most of the remaining works will be completed and stabilised,” Mr Whippy said.
The inspection came after several videos appeared online, suggesting that the structural safety of the building may have been compromised.
The director and principal engineer for HLK Jacob Limited, Brian Jacob, said they found no structural distress on the building, but they would continue their inspections. “From what we have seen today there is no danger of collapse. We cannot see any structural distress on the ceiling, beams or the immediate areas where the tiles have popped,” he said.
“It is safe to go inside, and we are trying to collect all the information and get to the bottom of what is going on.”