Contractor distances self from defects on URA tower

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The company that was contracted to construct the Uganda Revenue Authority-URA tower says that the construction was done based on the agreed design and drawings.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Seyani Brothers & Company Uganda Limited says that it didn’t construct the tower poorly, but did what it was asked to do.

The 23-story building, which cost taxpayers 139 billion shillings, has come under public scrutiny after it flooded on Monday amidst heavy rainfall.

Questions have been asked on who made mistakes on the building.

The consultants that designed the building J.E Nsubuga and Associates Ltd, were hired independently from the contractor.

Seyani says it just implemented what was handed to them by the consultants.

“The louvers, in the Atrium, which were a fundamental concept of the URA Tower, have been installed exactly as per the construction drawings and details as issued by the consultants and URA is fully aware of this,” Seyani said.

The building was officially opened in January by President Museveni.

A few days after opening, URA wrote to the consultant indicating it had seen defects on the building that it wanted sorted. It expressed concern that water was entering the building.

“This is to bring to your attention that January 4th, 19th, and 20th, 2019, we received rainfall and on each of the above days, significant amounts of water entered the building through the Atrium on Floor Two and upper ground level,” URA informed J. Nsubuga Associates, the consultants.

The tax body added: “This represents a risk of water getting into the floor boxes, causing short circuits and possibly damaging equipment in the data centre.”

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