The National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) has taken the “painful” decision to empty its Society Business Park of all tenants as a precautionary measure to protect and safeguard human life, board chairman Shipango Muteto has said.
Yesterday, NAPSA – which owns the glistening multi-story building formerly known as Society House – announced the evacuation and closure of the building following revelations that it was a danger to human life. Tenants have to vacate the building in 10 days.
Muteto said a detailed report released last month revealed that the unsafe parkade and office block are directly linked to the hotel and retail mall through common facilities, hence, a danger to human life.
“All motorists, customers, and tenants who use or visit the Society Business Park mall and parkade are hereby informed that the entire place will not be available until further notice,” he said.
The report revealed that some parts of the structure, particularly the office block and the parkade, are structurally not sound and, therefore, not safe for continued occupancy.
The assessment has further revealed that while the retail mall and hotel tower are sound, they need attention to address identified structural defects.
“Following the structural failure of some columns at the office block as stated in a comprehensive assessment of the structural integrity of the entire society business park development in 2023, the board has put measures such as refunding all security deposits to tenants, and assisting to identify alternative trading places,” Muteto disclosed.
NAPSA, Zambia’s largest pension fund, said it is in the process of determining the total financial loss resulting from this “unfortunate development”.
The Society building is iconic to Lusaka’s central business district and hosted Zambia’s trailblazing private radio station – Radio Phoenix – when it burnt to ashes in 1997.
Built in 1978, Society House, as it was then known, was gutted to the ground from a fire that started on one of the lower floors. The fire brigade failed to respond on time, resulting in the entire building catching fire. It lay in ruin until it was redeveloped in 2011 at US$100 million. The new building attracted the Hilton Hotel chain, which entered Zambia with a facility in the middle of Cairo Road.
The structural problems first came to public light in 2019 when one first-floor column failed and crashed. Tenants were evacuated from the office block as the structure underwent a detailed examination. Measures were taken to fix the problem supposedly but it may appear that it’s not redeemable.
