The Ministry of Works and Transport alongside the National Building Review Board (NBRB) and National Housing and Construction Company (NHCC) has embarked on the construction of the Building Materials Research and Quality Assurance Centre at Lubowa along Entebbe Road.

The facility expected to be complete with in two years will be a centre of excellence for research, material testing and quality assurance. It will house the offices of NBRB, a museum, library and other facilities.

While launching the construction on Friday, Minister for Works and Transport Gen Edward Katumba Wamala, noted that centre will go along way in eliminating counterfeit building materials that have flooded the market such as steel bars, iron sheets, cement, paint and electrical wires among others.

“Public is tired of the postmortem carried by your investigations teams every after a building accident. What the public needs are solutions through enforcement of the existing laws and regulations and strict supervision of the sector” Gen Katumba Wamala emphasized.

As he pledged his support for the project, the Minister called on NBRB and NHCC to strictly adhere to the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two parties to have this project in place.

The Executive Sector of NBRB, Eng. Flavia Gutto Bwire noted that the Building Control Act, 2013, empowers the Board to carry out various tests on building method and materials to establish their viability in order to advise the authorities to take right decisions.

“This facility will be a clinic where the diagnosis on these materials will be carried out to ascertain whether they meet the safety standards. The results will be evident”. She noted.

The Chief Executive Officer of NHHC, Eng. Kenneth Kaijuka acknowledged the partnership between the two institutions as a landmark in establishing relationships between government institutions. The government of Uganda will fund this project.