Escom House to undergo renovations
Ten years after fire gutted part of Escom House in Blantyre, Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) has rescinded its earlier decision to demolish the structure and construct a new one.
In a written response to a questionnaire yesterday, Escom public relations manager Kitty Chingota said the decision followed a thorough look into two separate assessments done by Romana Consulting Engineers and the Department of Buildings in the Ministry of Transport in 2014 and 2017, respectively.
She said the ministry’s assessment recommended the demolition of the structure, but did not consider the cost of demolition and another option of retrofitting and rehabilitation of the building.
On the other hand, Romana Consulting Engineers, the structural engineers, presented option A which recommended the partial demolition of only the damaged first floor and option B for complete demolition of the building.
Said Chingota: “Following the engineering principles, we would like to take option A for partial demolition of the building since it is cheaper than constructing new office through demolition of whole building.
“Besides, this burnt building has been an eyesore to the city and we believe that renovating it makes a probable way to save on renting costs where we are currently housed at Umoyo House.”
However, she could not disclose the projected cost of the renovation of the building saying the actual cost will come after the detailed designs and assessment.
Chingota said the rehabilitation work, among others, will include removal of the first floor slab and reinforcing it with steel. She said the corporation is hiring structural engineering and architectural firms to detail the requirements.
“We are planning to budget under Mid Term Review of the Budget 2022-2023 budget and also in the Financial Year 2023-2024. The resources shall be from internal revenues,” explained Chingota.
Commenting on the matter, Engineer Wilson Chirwa said there was nothing wrong with Escom’s decision to just renovate the building.
He cited some buildings that caught fire and were renovated such as Nico House in Blantyre.
Said Chirwa: “If it [the building] caught fire, then what needs to be done is simply to strengthen the building. So, you can look at which areas the building weakened and what you can do to strengthen it.
“For Escom House, it is not a must that they should demolish the building. If they want to renovate it, it can be renovated only that maybe the rooms may not be what they used to be because you are strengthening it up.”
In 2019, Escom stirred public uproar when it announced the award of a contract to Irrigwater and Mining Equipment to demolish the burnt house at a cost of K675 million. The parastatal eventually cancelled the contract.
In September 2021, Escom outlined plans to build a 20-storey new Escom House two and a half years at an estimated cost of K15 billion.
Then Escom board chairperson Frederick Changaya announced the plans when the Parliamentary Committee on Transport and Public Infrastructure toured the old Escom House which was destroyed by fire in October 2013.
