Rebuilding Aba is difficult but necessary – Gov Otti

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has described his administration’s decision to rebuild Aba, the commercial hub of the state, as a difficult but necessary one for an age of prosperity.

Mr Otti made the remark on Thursday in Aba, during the flag-off of the remodelling of the Ekeoha Shopping Complex.

He said that Aba is known globally as an important business destination, a strategic trading hub in West Africa and a fertile ground for traditional enterprises.

“Unfortunately, it has not been properly repositioned with its trading spaces to meet the aspirations of the new generation of business people.

“I mean persons who daily go to find the best deals on textiles and clothing materials, shoes and leatherworks, electronics, heavy machinery and parts, and other products,” the governor said.

He said his government had set up a Project Management Committee to see that there is process transparency and guarantee that every party met its obligation.

He said the success of the project required the active support and cooperation of all stakeholders for the benefit of all.

Mr Otti said that when completed, persons who could pay outrightly for shops would be allowed, adding that bank support had been secured for traders, who did not have enough to pay up at once to enable them to own shops.

Mr Otti, while addressing the traders’ concerns, said that the cost of the shops would be different from their old rates but promised the shops would be bigger, better and more modern.

The Chairperson of the shopping complex, Emeka Okeke, thanked the governor “for showing himself a friend to Aba traders”.

He said that a place had been secured where the affected traders could be relocated to continue their business until their shops were ready.

Mr Okeke said that traders who were averse to the remodelling idea were persons afraid of losing their shops after the project.

He gave the assurance that traders would regain their shops if they had their allocation documents intact.

The CEO of Rhino Homes and Properties Limited, Chinedu Onyeizu, said the company would deliver a quality project in record time.

Mr Onyeizu further said his company would turn the shopping complex into a market with a digital presence that would satisfy the Abia government, traders and their patrons worldwide.

He said that following Mr Otti’s directive, the project’s development would be structured in phases to reduce the impact on the traders.

He further said that the shopping complex would be expanded to the old compound of the School of Health Technology “to ensure no trader is displaced to a distant place”.

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Mr Onyeizu said the new market would be internet-enabled, have an elevator, a mini clinic, ambulance, and fire truck for health and emergency response services.

The Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Chimezie Ukaegbu, said the market had faced challenges over the years, which hindered its potential.

Mr Ukaegbu said the market infrastructure had decayed and the trading environment less conducive for modern business services.

He described the new Ekeoha market as an investment in the future of its traders and patrons, which would boost international trading with a new customer base, upon completion.

(NAN)