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GAM to blame for Wasfi Al Tal street cave-in — engineers association

By Ana V. Ibáñez Prieto - Jan 22,2018 - Last updated at Jan 22,2018

The Greater Amman Municipality reopened Wasfi Al Tal Street (Gardens Street) on Sunday midnight following a cave-in with detours still in place (Photo by Osama Aqarbeh)

AMMAN — Jordanian Engineers Association (JEA) President Majed Tabaa on Sunday said that “the construction project that caused the recent cave-in at Wasfi Al Tal Street [Gardens Street] obtained the excavation permit without prior approval from JEA”, according to a press statement issued by the association. 

“The shoring process carried out in the street did not proceed under an official contract or engineering plans approved by the union,” Tabaa claimed in the statement, noting that JEA’s approval for construction is required by the Jordanian National Building Code. 

Sari Zuayter, chairman of the Civil Engineering Chapter at JEA, told The Jordan Times that “the contractors addressed the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) directly and obtained the permission to execute the works with no technical supervision”, stressing that “the project should have been submitted to us [JEA] according to the law, but the GAM gave the permission without prior consultation”.

“The GAM is to blame for the cave-in at Wasfi Al Tal,” Zuyater claimed, noting that “they are the ones in charge of enforcing the law and their work was not done correctly, since the building plans did never pass through the right channel”.

“JEA’s ratification of the plans is not a mere formality,” Tabaa pointed out, explaining that the approval depends on the identification of several preventive measures and the number and nature of cadres working on the project, ensuring the accomplishment of the minimum requirements for construction.

“It is essential to supervise the projects and ensure that the work procedures comply with the National Building Code and other regulations in force, granting the licences to start the excavations only after JEA’s approval of the plans,” he added. 

The president concluded his statement appealing to the concerned authorities to implement the existing laws and regulations, stressing that “this issue is related to the preservation of the lives and property of the citizens and their safety, and it is not admissible to lax in this dangerous matter”.

For his part, director of the building control department at the GAM Raed Haddadin told The Jordan Times that  all works performed at Wasfi Al Tal street were approved according to the regulations before its execution, stressing that “the JEA was aware of the plans and that there is documentation available to prove it”. 

 

The official also highlighted that that the cave-in did not happen in the street but in the private land of the owner where the works were to be executed, adding that the plans were approved by the civil defence,  water and electricity companies as well. 

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