Safety first in skyscrapers

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Public Works Radinal Moochtar has asked the developer of the 50-story Wisma 46 Kota BNI building to make safety its top priority.

"Safety should be the first priority in the project," Radinal said when visiting the project Wednesday.

The minister said that the high-rise building should be provided with reliable fire-extinguishing systems and should be able to withstand a powerful earthquake.

Construction of high-rise buildings was justifiable as a way of solving the problem of land acquisition, Radinal said, as reported by Antara.

The Wisma 46 Kota BNI is currently the tallest building in Indonesia. When completed, it will be able to accommodate about 8,000 people. (32)