A concrete sunbreaker at a HDB block in Tampines partially collapsed in September.
The final investigation report by the professional engineer (PE) regarding the dislodged concrete sunbreaker at Block 201E Tampines St 23 revealed that it had no reinforcement bars, reported Channel NewsAsia.
In a statement released on Sunday (4 December), the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) noted that the PE concluded that the sunbreaker dislodged due to the way it was constructed, and not because of its structural design.
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) also shared that while the side of the sunbreaker that dislodged in September had no reinforcement bars, “all the other 73 sunbreakers at Blocks 201A, 201B, 201D and 201E are adequately supported on columns and are safe”.
“This is consistent with the results of the ultrasound scans on the sunbreakers conducted earlier,” it said in a separate statement.
The HDB stated that Hock Guan Thong Construction, the building contractor, had ceased operations in 1993.
“There is only one other existing HDB project by this contractor. All the three blocks in this project do not have sunbreakers. Nonetheless, HDB has inspected these blocks and ascertained that they are structurally safe,” it said.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
