Abia State Set To Establish Standard Materials Testing Laboratory

The Abia State Government in Southeast Nigeria has approved the establishment of a Standard Material Testing Laboratory in Umuahia.

The move is one of the government’s proactive measures towards preventing the use of low-grade building materials, to prevent cases of building collapse.

This was made known by the General Manager of Umuahia Capital Development Authority, UCDA, Mr Kingsley Agomoh.

Agomoh said; “the initiative would assist the government in ensuring that every building, road and bridges constructed in the state meets the required standards.

“So, with this it is going to be difficult to start any construction work and get approval at each stage of the building without getting the materials tested through this lab.

“We are going to build the best in Umuahia, then other parts of the state like Aba, Ohafia will have their own as time goes on.”

Agomoh further said that the government was working assiduously to ensure that building permit would be issued within 30 days of submission of building permit.

“Efforts are being made to digitalise the operations involved in issuance of building permit and that the facility would be used to conduct soil test, check rod reinforcement, aggregate materials and asphalt,” Agomoh added.

The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Mr Okey Kanu said that the decision to build the laboratory was informed by the instances of buildings collapse in the country.

He said; “We know the attendant human and material resources loss when a building colapses, so this government is poised to ensure that such instances do not occur in our state.”

Kanu said that the facility would serve as a platform for research.

“We want buildings to serve the purpose for which it was built, UCDA has been interfacing with landlords to see that this does not continue,” he stressed.

Kanu expressed the government’s resolve to stop all forms of touting, popularly known as “Agbero”, adding that a task force had been set to tackle the menace.

NAN/ Chidimma Gold