METRO TANAH ABANG SHOPPING CENTER'S COLLAPSE BLAMED ON SEVERAL VIOLATIONS

Jakarta, Dec 24 (ANTARA) - A team of the Construction Service Development Institution (LPKN) in their investigation of the collapsed Metro Tanah Abang Shopping Center has found that a regulation has been violated.

"There is an indication that a violation had taken place, but it is still too early to declare who is really to blame for the collapse in which a couple of construction workers were killed," the team's chairman Sarwono Hardjomuljadi said in Jakarta Thursday.

Sarwono who is also in charge of training and development, mediation, and arbitration of LPKN said one this is sure namely that an administrative regulation had been violated because the construction of the new part attached to the shopping center had no building permit (IMB).

Another thing that also had to be checked is whether or not the contractor and consultants concerned were really qualified in what they had been doing, and they were really qualified they have to prove it by certificates issued by the LPJK.

"We have certificates which the contractors and consultants were supposed to have in building the project, such as certificate on skills and expertise, business, and technical papers, technical certificates," he said.

LPJKN member Darma Tyanto said judging from the building, there was something wrong with the construction, which was also an indication that Law no 18 of 1999 on construction services had been violated.

So it needs to be found who was really to be blamed for the mishap, the consultants, contracotors, or the owners of the building.

He also asked the Building Supervisory Agency to take immediate firm action against the owners of the building which had obviously violated the new construction work.

In the meantime, head of the Jakarta City Construction Agency Harry Sasongko said the police is also joining the team in trying to determine who