The Brazilian Construction firm that built the Kumasi Kejetia market has recommended a temporary closure of part of Kejetia Market which was gutted by fire on 14th March 2023.
The order comes after the facility failed the firm's one-week structural integrated test, which was conducted on it.
Although the fire only directly affected 32 businesses, the market's economic closure will have an impact on 807 shops.
If regular maintenance is not performed on the facility based on suitable technical advice, the construction company thinks the structure could collapse.
The Kejetia Market expansion was destroyed by fire on March 16, 2023, at around 4 p.m. due to human error.
The market was temporarily closed to operation from June 16 to June 20 after a 5-hour-long intense firefight between personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service, the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), and other security agencies. The closure was then extended by another 7 days.
This was done to provide the facility's management a chance to interact and prepare for market-based structural integrity tests.
Although administration of the market had hired specialists to undertake inspections to determine whether the market is fit for purpose, particularly at the area that was impacted by the fire, Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia instructed management of the market to open the market to business.
The market's construction company, Brazilian Contracta, said in a report given to the Kejetia Market Board a week after the fire that the area impacted by the fire was unfit for use.
A warning that the facility might collapse if it is not adequately rehabilitated before use is included in the explanation that the structure failed an integrity test, rendering it unfit for its intended use.
This information was revealed during a news conference in Kumasi by Vice Board Chairperson of the Kejetia Market Board Amoamanhene Nana Agyenim Boateng.
The technical evaluation team also certifies that the electrical and firefighting equipment installed in the market, especially in the fire-damaged area, has been destroyed.
Nana Agyenim Boateng went on to explain why the building can collapse if regular maintenance is not carried out.