Unappreciated soil process likely causing structural defects at Malacca market: IEM

MALACCA: Unappreciated soil process could most likely be attributed to the distresses manifested at the Melaka Market in Peringgit, here, said Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) president Tan Yean Chin.
He said the market appeared to have been built on ground raised with fill placed over thick, soft and compressible soils which would have induced large subsidence in the ground.
According to him, the process known to engineers required an extremely long time to complete when unappreciated and therefore, unmitigated against.
"The distresses manifested at the market could most likely be attributed to this. Media reports have proffered soil erosion and ground settlement as causes of the problems," he said in a statement, here, today.
The state government had reportedly decided to evacuate 342 Melaka Market traders due to the sinkholes that affected the structure of the market, and the initial investigation revealed that the contractors involved did not comply with the construction plan, especially the piling work.
Tan said IEM had qualified members with appropriate engineering expertise and skills to assist the authorities in identifying the causes of the distresses at the 12-year-old Melaka Market.
He said IEM also had appropriate engineering expertise and skills to identify comprehensively the building's state of integrity so that actions needed for rehabilitation of the facility could be correctly instituted.
"With the present state of distress in the market posing a threat to public safety, IEM considers appropriate, the timely action to evacuate the traders and restrict public access to the compromised facility by the authorities," he added. — Bernama