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Demolition of CBS’ annex building underway |03 July 2020

Demolition of CBS’ annex building underway

Ms Sullivan and Mr Moustache speaking to the media

Preliminary work to demolish the annex building of the Central Bank of Seychelles started on Wednesday and yesterday afternoon key officials of the bank gave more details on the demolition strategy to allay public fear about the process.

Jenifer Sullivan, second deputy governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS), and Russel Moustache, building and project manager, briefed the press about the demolition process.

Ms Sullivan explained that the demolition work will be done in phases from a top down approach and the process being carried out will not result in staff needing to leave the building which means that CBS will function as normal. With regards to members of the public, they are being asked to pay particular attention when using the pavements near the CBS.

“We will not block any part of the road. Currently the annex building has tilted about 9cm,” said Ms Sullivan.

She then provided a summary of the different steps taken by the CBS regarding this issue.

In January 2018, CBS staff noticed the tilting of the annex building. “Immediately we brought our concerns to the Seychelles Planning Authority (SPA) and the Seychelles Pension Fund (SPF). After further investigation, we found out that work carried out on the ex-Pirates Arms site caused this issue and in January 2018 the SPA issued a stop notice,” explained Ms Sullivan.

In February 2018, the annex tenants namely Treasury, department of information communication and technology (DICT) and Public Officers' Ethics Commission were asked to vacate the building.

“The CBS board found that it was dangerous for tenants to still occupy the building as we did not know what was happening. In March 2018, a request for proposal for engineering services for an independent investigation was released. In June 2018, a structural engineer from Cundall Johnson & Partners LLP was appointed and a month later they submitted a draft structural and geotechnical assessment report. Following that the CBS board decided to demolish the annex building. It was not a simple and easy decision to take, but there was no guarantee that other methods suggested such as underpinning would be successful,” highlighted Ms Sullivan.

In November 2018, CBS and SPF met with the SPA board and in August last year, the CBS received guidance from the SPA to prepare a methodology for demolition of the building. This was followed by a request for a quote for engineering services to prepare demolition guidelines in September 2019. It was Winslow Naya Consulting firm who was contracted to prepare the guidelines.

“In November 2019, the SPF submitted a draft contract for the compensation for the damages caused and this contract was signed by CBS in January this year. The amount agreed was R10,288,509. So far SPF has released 30% of the amount. Also in January, the SPA approved the demolition guidelines,” added Ms Sullivan.

Laxmanbhai & Co. (Sey) Ltd secured the contract in line with the procurement policy of the CBS to start the demolition process.

The demolition will amount to R4,292,412.61 (inclusive of all taxes) and is expected to be completed in six weeks.

“For now we are focussing on the demolition of the building and we will have to review our reconstruction plan due to COVID-19,” stressed Ms Sullivan.

Mr Moustache explained that “the work will be done in accordance with the guidelines that stipulate the appropriate methodology for the demolition. It will be done in different phases: preparation, demolition and removing of debris.

“Work has been planned in a way that during the day, the contractor will do preliminary works and after 5pm and during weekends, the work will intensify. The way we are proceeding will be to minimise vibration. We are taking all precautionary measures to ensure maximum safety and if we see that the building is tilting further, we will have to stop the work and find other ways to tackle the issue,” said Mr Moustache.

The annex was built in 1999 and its foundation is separate from the main building which was constructed in 1984.To recall the CBS building has been constructed on reclaimed land.

CBS is advising members of the public to take extra precaution when accessing the CBS building or using the nearby pavement.

 

Vidya Gappy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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