28.08.2025 02:27
In Şanlıurfa, contractor Ömer Çorbacı had doubts about the concrete durability of the building he constructed, so he had a special test conducted. After the results came back low, he reported himself and ensured the building's demolition. As the five-story building was being demolished by heavy machinery, his exemplary behavior received great appreciation.
An unusual event occurred in Şanlıurfa. The contractor who conducted the core test of the building he constructed noticed a defect and reported himself. The sealed building was demolished by an excavator.
An extraordinary event took place in the construction sector in Şanlıurfa. In the Korkukent neighborhood of the Haliliye district, a 7-story building that collapsed in an earthquake was handed over to a contractor for reconstruction as part of the on-site transformation. The contractor, Ömer Çorbacı, became suspicious of the concrete he received from the Say Beton company and had the core samples, which had previously passed the suitability test, tested in a special laboratory this time. As a result of the tests, Çorbacı concluded that the concrete used had low durability and reported himself, initiating work for the building's demolition. The building, found to be defective by independent inspectors who went to the area following the report, was sealed by the municipal police. After ensuring environmental safety, the building, which had five floors completed, was demolished with heavy machinery. Contractor Çorbacı was appreciated by the residents and representatives of the sector for his exemplary behavior.
"WE SAW THAT THE CONCRETE STRENGTH WAS LOWER THAN IT SHOULD BE" Construction contractor Ömer Çorbacı stated, "We purchased the concrete for the structure we wanted to rebuild as part of the on-site transformation from the Say Beton company. However, the wet sample results obtained in accordance with the procedures and the observations of our building inspection did not indicate any procedural errors. However, later, the concrete strengths being much lower than they should be in the laboratory raised our suspicions. We saw that the concrete strength was much lower than it should be based on the core results we obtained from another private laboratory. In other words, our structure's project requires C25 concrete, we purchased C30 concrete, but our concrete strength shows 8 resistance. In this case, we initiated the necessary legal procedures. We applied to the relevant authorities. We leave the decision to the administrative authorities, and we are demolishing our building. We are rebuilding this place because people died, meaning we need to be more careful here; we need to show the utmost sensitivity we can," he said.
"DESPITE 2 YEARS PASSING SINCE THE EARTHQUAKE..." Ahmet Melik, the Provincial Representative of the Şanlıurfa Chamber of Civil Engineers, stated that lessons have still not been learned from the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, saying, "Two years ago, we experienced the earthquake on February 6, 2023. It was a disaster that cost the lives of thousands of our people and caused millions to be injured. It left many homeless. We are currently following the same process again. Despite two years passing, no lessons have been learned. Currently, in the structure you see behind us, our contractors have activated the core system, suspecting the concrete, even though the concrete results are correct. According to the core results, our concrete samples are not sufficient. Since our foundation came out very low, it seems that the load-bearing system does not make sense. This indicates that people's life-threatening situation continues. In other words, it can be said that building inspections, concrete plants, and laboratories are not properly monitoring their work. We urge our institutions, especially the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, to conduct inspections more strictly," he expressed.
SHOULD BE AN EXAMPLE FOR OTHER CONTRACTORS Pirkan Kılıç, the Chairman of the Board of the Şanlıurfa Chamber of Architects, stated, "What is being done here today, at the expense of disregarding people's lives to earn a few pennies, is not acceptable. Today, we thank our contractor friend again; he has ensured the necessary controls himself at the very beginning of the job, and as a result of these inspections, which he conducted independently without relying on certain firms and authorities, he has managed to obtain the demolition decision for this building and is personally overseeing it. This is significant. Other contracting firms must also show this sensitivity," he said.
"HUMAN LIFE IS NOT THAT CHEAP" Osman Doğrudağ, a resident of the building under construction, stated, "I am the building manager. Unfortunately, we are experiencing the second earthquake after the first one. The concrete from the company called Say Beton has unfortunately come out low. Our contractor went and reported himself. I call on the authorities from here. They should be sensitive about this issue; as you can see, there were only two floors left to finish, and this happened to us. Unfortunately, we are still tenants. Human life is not that cheap," he expressed.