Department of Infrastructure Development 2019/11/19 - 22:00
MEC Motara briefs media on upcoming demolition of Bank of Lisbon
By: Rorisang Monyela
After taking the decision of demolition the Bank of Lisbon building, which is situated at 37 Pixley Ka Isaka Seme Street, Johannesburg central, MEC for Infrastructure Development and Property Management Tasneem Motara on Wednesday, 20 November 2019, held a media briefing at 18 Rissik, Impophoma House, to announce the demolition date of the building and precautionary measures to be taken during the demolition.
Sections of the 31-storey building caught fire on 05 September 2018, lasting over 24hours, where it was severely damaged. The fire was later put out by a multi-disciplinary team involving experts from all three spheres of government. The Department has since contracted Jet Demolition (Pty) Ltd to demolish the building on its behalf following assessments which indicated it was highly unsafe for occupation.
MEC Motara said, "Logistical preparations are at an advanced stage and all affected stake holders are informed and continuously engaged about the plans for the day".
Motara informed the media that from 23 of November 2019, streets such as, Diagonal and Helen Joseph, Albertina Sisulu and Ntemi Piliso, Commissioner and Pixley ka Isaka Seme, Commissioner and Fraser will be closed due the process of demolition.
"At 06:30 on Sunday, residents will be evacuated and will be accommodated in FNB Bank City for a duration of up to 3 hours. Once the building has been imploded and cleared, residents will be allowed back. This should be able to happen at 09:30," said Motara.
Jet Demolition safety manager Marthinus Botha, explained the process on how the demolition will take place on Sunday
"In the building where we are doing the implosion, the areas will be charged with an explosive acidic wrap that will prevent any fly-away from escaping the building. In addition to that, the charges had been made up in such a way that will minimise a big blast during the implosion," he said.
Botha added that the neighbouring buildings will be protected by geo-textile material to ensure that there is no damage during the implosion, as well as vibration monitoring.
"The roads will be protected by conveyor belts and buildings will be sealed for dust protection in the area," he said.
The department said the project, including clearing of site, will be completed in March 2020. Following that the site will be prepared for future building in order to meet the accommodation needs of GPG, plans will be soon communicated.
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