The 22-storey building was demolished within less than 30 seconds as thousands of Johannesburg residents watched in awe.
JOHANNESBURG - Gauteng infrastructure development MEC Tasneem Motara has expressed her satisfaction at the successful implosion of the old Bank of Lisbon building in the Johannesburg CBD on Sunday morning.
The 22 storey building was demolished within less than 30 seconds as thousands of Johannesburg residents watched in awe. The demolition follows a deadly fire in September last year, which claimed the lives of three Johannesburg firefighters. It was subsequently declared unsafe and earmarked for demolition.
Speaking after Sunday's implosion, Motara said the demolition had cost the city R90 million so far. “The experts said that this was one of the most difficult demolitions they had to work on. This brings us to an end of an era. There has been no damage to [other] property and no-one has been hurt," she said.
Motara added that 894kg of explosives had been used to implode the building. The department had budgeted R140 million for the demolition project and R90 million had been spent to date. "We will build a new facility to accommodate GPG [Gauteng provincial government] departments," she said.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
MEC Mazibuko urged to intensify fight against gang-related crime | IOL NewsSophiatown, Reiger Park, and Eldorado Park had seen a spike in gang-related crimes during the 2019/2020 financial year, DA Gauteng MPL Lebo More said on Sunday.
Read more »
‘Best in the industry’ to demolish Bank of Lisbon building | Saturday StarJet Demolition was founded in 1994 by husband and wife, Joe and Liz Brinkmann, who are also the directors of the company.
Read more »
WATCH: Joburg’s Bank of Lisbon building demolishedNo one is allowed access into the exclusion zone, which includes everything inside Diagonal, Pritchard, Simmonds and Commissioner streets in the CBD.
Read more »
WATCH: Deadly Bank of Lisbon building imploded | IOL NewsThe Bank of Lisbon building is gone. As of 9am on Sunday morning, the once iconic building was imploded in a controlled demolition.
Read more »