Claims that Karamunsing Complex, one of the popular shopping centres in the city, is unsafe have spooked shoppers and tenants as city dwellers rush to do their last-minute Chinese New Year shopping.
Building owner, Crest Megaway Sdn Bhd, has rushed to limit the bad publicity and soothe anxieties by welcoming a state Public Works Department (PWD) investigation on the safety of the whole structure of the seventh, eighth, and ninth floors of Block C tower.
Company president, James Hwong You Chuang, said the management would extend full cooperation to the PWD in its investigation.
“It has always been and shall always be the guiding principle of our management that public safety and public interest is of paramount importance and our management shall not compromise on this fundamental issue,” he said over the weekend.
Hwong said that Kota Kinabalu City Hall had appointed independent consultant engineer, WD Lee, to conduct a detailed structural integrity test on the whole structure of the three floors of Block C Tower of the complex.
Final report
Hwong said that the management took note of Mayor Iliyas Ibrahim’s recent statement that a preliminary investigation by Lee showed no immediate danger of the floor slabs of the three floors collapsing.
“We are made to understand that a final and conclusive investigation report by Lee would be submitted to the KK City Hall on or before March 3.
“We shall at all times abide by, and strictly adhere to, all and any directions, findings, recommendations that shall be made by City Hall and the PWD in the interest of public safety,” Hwong said in a statement.
The complex was built in 1982 by Promet Dikoyu Sdn Bhd under the guidance of Architects Goh Hock Guan & Associates and Civil and Structural Consultants Tahir Wong Sdn Bhd.
Crest Megaway purchased the complex from Danaharta on April 15, 2005.
“In the midst of the on-going controversy, it is only fair and appropriate that the public should spare a thought for the 381 owners and tenants of the complex whose livelihood and businesses have been gravely and adversely affected,” Hwong added.
It was reported recently that tenants and an owner of the complex, Suria Capital Holdings Bhd (SCHB), had complained to the City Hall after the three floors were found to be unsafe.
They claimed that cracking sounds were heard inside the building and vibrations and a deflection of as much as three inches or more were detected on all the three floors.
Detailed inspection
SCHB has since moved out from the complex as it was worried about the structural integrity of the building.
Documents containing minutes of the meeting of a special committee consisting of City Hall engineers and the SCHB consultant engineer have been widely circulated on the Internet over the weekend, including on the social network site, Facebook.
The documents highlighted the report from the consultant who reckoned that the structure was difficult to rehabilitate as “the critical part of the structural system had been stressed beyond its elastic limit”.
Any attempt to add additional reinforcement will shift the mode of failure towards the brittle mode, the report stated.
It also noted that the risk of collapse is considered to be very high if the current loading experienced by the structure is exceeded and concluded that the flat slab floor structures were not safe for occupancy.
After a lengthy discussion, the special committee decided that an independent and approved professional engineer should conduct a detailed structural integrity inspection on the entire complex, including the podium and the two tower blocks.
The Karamunsing Complex is one of the top shopping spots in the city.
City dwellers have commented that the extensive renovation and extension work around the building, including the multi-level car park, was not in keeping with the original building plan.
One contractor familiar with the work said such work may contravene City Hall’s building and safety by-laws. - FMT
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