Kenya Pipeline Corporation Chief Executive Officer, Joel Sang, has indicated that Taj Mall was severely affecting oil distribution activities.
According to the Kenyan parastatal, the building was erected on oil pipelines thereby disorienting oil supply routes and affecting the entire country.
Sang indicated that the affected oil pipelines were the old Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline, identified as Line 1 and the new Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline also known as line 2.
He added that the building posed a health hazard to area residents.
While supporting the demolitions, Sang affirmed the corporation’s support for the activities saying that they were restoring integrity to public service operations.
He also took the opportunity to remind all builders along the pipeline network to demolish illegal structures.
“KPC has already embarked on an exercise to remove all the illegal structures and buildings across the pipeline network,” Sang stated.
Taj Mall’s demolitions commenced on Saturday despite the persistent appeals by the owner not to bring it down.
In his defence, Rameshchandra Govino stated that he had all the requisite approval documents.
However, the government went ahead and brought the mall down, signalling fresh attempts to regenerate Nairobi.
