Tanesco building to go with at least Sh30bn
What you need to know:
Demolition of a section of the building, which houses offices for the ministry of Water and Irrigation, got underway yesterday as officials abide by President John Magufuli’s recent order.
Dar es Salaam. All eyes are now on the headquarters for Tanzania Electricity Supply Company Limited (Tanesco), with experts estimating that its demolition would bury at least Sh30 billion into the ground.
Demolition of a section of the building, which houses offices for the ministry of Water and Irrigation, got underway yesterday as officials abide by President John Magufuli’s recent order.
The demolition, which will also involve one of the buildings that currently house the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) headquarters on the same location, will pave way for the construction of the Sh188 billion Ubungo Interchange.
Architects are of the view that erecting a building like the one that is to be pulled down at Ubungo may cost not less than Sh30 billion.
“I know of a building, which has features that are similar to those of Tanesco’s headquarters. It still under construction and is expected to cost a total of Sh43 billion. Basically, a building of that nature can cost a minimum of Sh30 billion,” said the secretary general for East Africa Institute of Architects, Mr David Kibebe.
He noted, however, that there were a number of issues to be considered prior to the actual construction.
“We conduct a number of geotechnical investigations after which we arrive at the right quantity of materials to be used in the construction process. This is what finally helps us to arrive at the right amount to be spent on erecting a building,” he said.
Through geotechnical investigations, engineers are able to study the behavior of earth materials including soil, rocks and thus be able to know the right material quality and quantity.
The Tanesco managing director, Dr Tito Mwinuka remained non-committal on the actual day of starting the demolition exercise, insisting, nonetheless, that the President’s directive will be respected.
“Nobody has to worry about the demolition of our building. The exercise will be executed as planned. It is just a matter of time,” he said insisting that when time comes, the power utility will provide detailed information on the exercise.
