KOTA KINABALU: The “structural integrity” of one of the city’s top shopping spots, Karamunsing Complex, has come under scrutiny following concerns over the safety of the multi-storey building, which is under going renovation.
The “dangerous stress” level of the building that is undergoing extensive extensions was brought up at a meeting of the Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) “high risk development technical committee” (HRDTC) recently.
The committee has been tasked with investigating complaints lodged by a property owner, Suria Capital Holdings Bhd (SCHB), which claimed that the offices it occupied on the seventh, eighth and ninth floors are unsafe for occupation.
So alarmed were they that they hurriedly moved out to Menara Jubilee, near here, after a consultant engineer hired by SCHB concluded that the building was unsafe for occupation.
The engineer’s report stated that the flat slab floor structures are not safe and noted that the risk of collapse is considered to be very high if the current loading (as a result of the extensive renovations and extensions) experienced by the structure is exceeded.
The investigation was commissioned by the property owner following serious vibrations which were reported on the three affected floors.
The documents containing the minutes of meeting between DBKK engineers and SCHB consulting engineer have been widely circulated on the ,Internet, including the social network Facebook and the Malaysia Today online news portal, over the weekend.
Among the crucial points highlighted in the minutes of the HRDTC meeting are that the structure is difficult to rehabilitate as “the critical part of the structural system had been stressed beyond its elastic limit”.
It noted that any attempt to add additional reinforcement will shift the mode of failure towards the brittle mode.
Study needed
The HRDTC met on Jan 10 and had recommended that independent professionals be engaged to conduct a detailed structural integrity check on the whole Karamunsing complex, including the podium and the two tower blocks.
The committee also recommended that the study should be done immediately to ascertain the safety of the entire complex within three months.
It is learnt that three professional bodies led by the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM), Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM) and Architects Association of Malaysia (PAM) had this week written to the Mayor, Illiyas Ibrahim, urging City Hall to engage an independent consultant to verify the complaints made by the owner of the affected units.
City Hall director-general Yeo Boon Hai confirmed that they are aware of the matter and are investigating the complaints lodged by SCHB, which it received sometime last month.
“Yes, we are aware of the complaints by one of the owners pertaining to the structural safety of the shopping complex and we are investigating. We are also concerned about this as it involves public safety,” he said.
He assured that City Hall would act based on the outcome of its investigation.
The Karamunsing Complex was built in the early 1980s. In the early 1990s, shoppers and tenants panicked when cracks appeared and floor tiles popped up in one of its tower blocks at a basement supermarket.
The incident triggered a mass exodus of its tenants at that time.
“The experts later said that the cause was due to a slight subsidence,” said a contractor familiar with the matter.
Hive of activity
The fear gradually died down after the management remedied the defects and the complex slowly recovered back its tenants.
In 2005, Crest Megaway Sdn Bhd (CMSB) took over ownership of the building and started to carry out extensive renovations and extensions and the once semi-deserted complex is now a hive of activity.
However, the renovation works have not gone down well with the people who have criticised City Hall over the manner it had handled the issue without regard for public safety.
City dwellers have questioned whether the renovation works and extensions were approved by the relevant authorities like the DBKK, the Fire and Rescue Department and Public Works Department but no one has come up with any reassurance.
A businessman, who is familiar with the on-going work, said he was not aware that the plan for the various renovations had been approved. The extensive extensions have even encroached into the multi-storey car park and sidewalk.
Some property owners also claimed that they have yet to obtain the strata titles for their units.
Since taking over the shopping complex in 2005, CMSB has succeeded in transforming it into an IT hub where the bulk of its tenants comprise shops selling computers and related gadgets. - FMT
With the assurance from the minister YB Yee and DBKK Mayor warrant that the karamunsing complex building is safe & sound for occupancy, and also in addition, an earlier visitation to the building were made to the same purpose by the DAPs, lead by Dr. Khoo. thus, you better buy it that what they said about the building is what they meant about the building. And it is not fair to judge and yet for us to be qualify to jump into a conclusion that the building is unsafe. High priase to our dear MPs, YPs and our the Dear Mayor. BUT WE CAN BE ALMOST SURE THAT THE BUILDING IS IN A BIG MESS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE PROPER FIRE ESCAPE! Building has been renovated, altered, extended as no compliances to any UBBL, needless to say that they ever had obtained any approval or at least a consent from JPBM. Who should be responsible for all this???? Maybe our honourable MPs, YBs and the people from DBKK are dare to encourage their wife, children and close relatives to hang out in Karamunsing complex in a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and enjoy the comfort and pleasant scene that the building is offering, with all due respect, as quoted by our honourable YB Dr. Yee. Maybe they do, but not me.
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