COREN lauds Akwa Ibom 21-storey office complex project

The Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) has commended Akwa Ibom state government for its strict observance of standard procedures, use of registered professionals and implementation of projects with appropriately tested quality materials.This commendation was made by the Chief Inspector of the council, Benjamin Ekanem, with his monitoring team to the site of the 21-storey office complex; being constructed by the government through VKS Engineering Company.

Ekanem said that, the regular monitoring and inspection of critical public infrastructure such as the 21-storey building Complex, has become imperative due to incessant incidences of building collapse in the country in compliance with Executive Order 5, signed by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The COREN Chief Inspector, who said every detail of a building was critical to its integrity and durability, noted that, most of the buildings that collapsed were a direct result of cutting corners during their construction through the use of unregistered professionals as well as substandard materials.He emphasized that, such exercises which would be regularly carried out on public structures under construction until they are completed, was not to witch- hunt any individual, organization or the government but in the safety and best interest of the State, its citizenry and the nation at large.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Special Duties and Aviation Development, Richard Ekpe, said that, the opening up the 21-Storey building site and other government development sites to all regulatory agencies, were testament to the Udom Emmanuel administration’s transparency disposition.According to him, if malpractices were tolerated or due processes at any stage were compromised, there would have been a second thought as to whether Federal Regulatory Agencies should be admitted

Earlier, the Commissioner for Special Duties and Aviation Development, Mr. Akan Okon, said government under the current leadership was willing to subject itself and projects to every standard procedures, required for such projects.According to him, his ministry had already set up a team of qualified professionals to diligently monitor every stage of the 21 Storey building project embarked upon by government through the ministry, to ensure that, the required standards were thoroughly adhered to.He said that, the project would afford building professionals in the ministry to gain experience and commended the COREN monitoring team for their dexterity to ensure that public buildings are constructed in a manner that would ensure the safety of the occupants.

The Commissioner said that, government was satisfied with the level and standard of work done on site by VKS Engineering, adding that, the pace and competence shown by the company was highly commendable.The meeting featured a detailed slide presentation of the specifics of the building by Daniel Etteh of VKS as well as thorough inspection of the detailed aspects of the project by the COREN monitoring team.Meanwhile, the 21-Storey building office complex projects, one of the flagship projects of the Udom Emmanuel administration is on its 16th floor.