Abia Govt To Establish Building Material Testing Laboratory

Abia State government has unveiled plans for the construction of building material testing laboratory in Umuahia, the state capital, in a bid to ensure that all ongoing construction works in the state meet the requisite integrity.

The Standard Material Testing Laboratory is expected to assist the state government in assessing properties and quality of construction materials to ensure structural integrity and safety in building projects.

Commissioner for information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu who disclosed this at Government House Umuahia, while briefing newsmen on the outcome of this week’s State Executive Council Meeting chaired by Governor Alex Otti said it was part of machineries put in place to forestall the incessant building collapse as being experienced in other states.

Kanu noted that government is poised to ensure that such instances do not occur in Abia state.

He said: “We have not had a lot of building collapse in Abia State but we know that in other parts of the country, there has been this uprising in the way and manner buildings collapse and of course the attendant human and material resources.

“This government is poised to ensure that such instances do not occur in our state”.

The Commissioner emphasized that the Standard Material Testing Laboratory would provide a platform for testing materials used in road construction as well as for research purposes.

The Commissioner expressed disapproval of illegal gates, building attachments converted to shops by individuals and cautioned those responsible to promptly remove them.

The General Manager, Umuahia Capital Development Authority, while describing the standard material testing as all encompassing, said the center has the capacity to handle soil test, enforcement of rods, aggregate materials and asphalt and would also handle buildings, roads construction works and bridges.

He said that the initiative is a well thought plan that would assist the state to ensure that every building, road construction including bridges meets government required standards.