The Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) Building and Town Planning Committee has requested engineer reports on all high-rise buildings, 10 floors and over, in the Corporate Area in what it says is an effort to ensure that they are structurally sound.

The municipal corporation’s Chief Engineer Xavier Chevannes told the committee last Wednesday that the letters requesting the engineering reports have been drafted and sent to the KSAMC’s lawyer.

Last week, KSAMC CEO Robert Hill told the Jamaica Observer that engineer reports were recently requested from Kingston Public Hospital, University Hospital of the West Indies, Bustamante Hospital for Children, and the National Stadium for its grandstand slab covering.

He said that engineer reports are routinely requested by the Building and Town Planning Committee for structures used for public gatherings.

The engineer report includes information on the foundation and walls of the building and the supporting elements such as the beams, columns, and stiffeners.

— Claudienne Edwards