Tower crane No. 5 at Imperial Pacific International’s unfinished hotel-casino in Garapan.
THE Department of Public Works last week declared as “actual and immediate danger, one of the tower cranes at Imperial Pacific International’s unfinished hotel-casino in Garapan. The tower crane “shall be deconstructed or disassembled immediately,” DPW stated.
DPW’s acting building safety official, Yvonne B. Tenorio, cited the NMI building safety code, which states: “Costs incurred in connection with the deconstruction/disassembly of the crane structure shall be paid by the government of the Northern Mariana Islands on a certified voucher of the Building Safety Official. Such costs shall be lien on the land on which the structure exists or existed, as the case may be until recovered by the government of the Northern Mariana Islands.”
Tenorio was referring to IPI’s tower crane No. 5. IPI shut down its casino operation at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.
In her “notice of actual and immediate danger,” Tenorio told the IPI management that the tower crane No. 5 poses an actual and immediate danger of collapse, endangering life or property.
According to Tenorio, the declaration was based on the records.
She said the previous and most recent inspections by the DPW building inspector revealed that the crane is “in serious despair and poses an imminent threat….”
Moreover, the “rusted components degrade the structural integrity of the entire equipment, [and there is] severe rust and deformity of metal structures….”
She noted a “complete absence of regular maintenance for several years, damage and degradation of wire rope, alignment issues, abnormal wear on the wheels, wheel bearings and rails, prolonged tropical environment exposure, [and] the…abandonment of the crane.”
She said the crane “is vulnerable to an earthquake with a magnitude of 4 to 5.”
In addition, the CNMI is now in typhoon season and “the associated risks of the crane structure have increased immensely….”
Crane No. 5 “poses an imminent threat to public safety and properties and shall be removed immediately,” DPW reiterated.
DPW has also asked IPI employees, agents or representatives to vacate the premises directly below tower crane No. 5.
