Rebuilding Aba a difficult but necessary task – Otti

Gov. Alex Otti of Abia 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.

Otti made the remark on Thursday in Aba, during the commissioning of the Ekeoha Shopping Complex for remodelling.

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 ensure process transparency and guarantee that every party met its obligations.

He said the success of the project required the active support and cooperation of all stakeholders and invited them to give it for the benefit of all.

Otti said that when completed, persons who could pay outright 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.

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 chairman of the shopping complex, Mr. 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.

Okeke said that traders who were averse to the remodelling idea were afraid of losing their shops at the completion of 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, Mr. Chinedu Onyeizu, said the company would deliver a quality project in record time.

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

He said that following 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.”.

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

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

Ukaegbu said the market infrastructure had decayed and the trading environment was less conducive to 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.