FT Minister on BBCC site incident: 'We have also stopped the construction work at that area'

PUTRAJAYA (Jan 30): A stop work order has been issued to Eco World Development Group Bhd (EcoWorld) after a construction mishap at the ex-Pudu Jail site of the Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) project, reported the Malay Mail today.

“After it had happened, we did do an inspection with NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) and DOSH ( Department of Occupational Safety and Health), and we have also stopped the construction work at that area until they repair and abide by all the order and necessary safety guidelines," Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad (pictured) told a media conference today.

*Localised slab failure occurred at Bukit Bintang City Centre, no injuries reported

EcoWorld announced yesterday that a localised failure of a slab occurred last Friday (Jan 25) at the BBCC development.

"The incident happened at 8.23pm. There was no injury to any person or any property. The relevant authorities were informed and investigations to identify the root cause of the incident were undertaken immediately," the company said in a statement.

"In the meantime, the affected area was cordoned off whilst works continued as normal on other parts of the site which were not affected by the incident. On 28 Jan 2019, BBCC received the go ahead from the Department of Occupational Safety & Health to proceed with clearing of the area today (29 Jan 2019)," it added in the statement.

The developer was responding to photos that were circulating widely on messaging apps depicting a structural collapse on the site.

“Sometimes, during construction, we would have already set the rules and they (developers) follow, but as construction goes on, things become slack, and we have to place a representative at the site for 24 hours,” said Khalid.

EcoWorld is jointly undertaking the multi-billion BBCC development with UDA Holdings Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund.