Demolition Of Hong-Kong Market Building Goes Overnight

The demolition of the Hong-Kong Market Building at Makola, which started this morning, is expected to continue overnight.

Mr Gilbert Ankrah, the Public Relations Officer, Accra Metropolitan Assembly, told the Ghana News Agency that, personnel engaged in the exercise would be working throughout the night with the aid of powerful lights.

The exercise follows the recommendation of the technical team, which investigated the July 5 Fire, that the building had become weak and its integrity had been compromised.

The three-storey building will be pulled down completely as recommended by the committee, tasked by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly to investigate the fire incident.

The committee found that the building had become weak and compromised.

It established that a generator set started the fire that engulfed a bigger part of the building and destroyed items worth thousands of Ghana cedis.

The committee also found that there were naked and haphazardly exposed wires in the building with bad electrical wiring, especially by unprofessional electricians as well as the use of substandard materials.

It took fire fighting officers several days to extinguish the inferno, amid criticisms from some traders and members of the public, who were frustrated with
the situation.

The Committee said, though the Ghana Water Company Limited reported of available water supply in the area, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) said due to the low pressure of the water, they had to go to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and adjoining areas to access water, which affected the firefighting exercise.

Sunday morning, personnel of the 48 Engineer Regiment cordoned off the area ahead of the demolition, which started at midday with support from the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Fire Service and the Ghana Water Company Limited.

Source: GNA