BY PATRICK MGBODO/RITA OYIBOKA
THE Asaba International Market is witnessing a surge of activity as investors scramble to secure spaces in the facility, with hundreds of completed open and lock-up shops already attracting keen interest.
The ultra-modern market, sprawling across 35 hectares along the Asaba–Onitsha Expressway on the site of the former Abraka Market, is a joint venture between the Delta State Government and Efab Properties Limited.
Addressing The Pointer, yesterday, the Efab Properties Project Manager, Engr Uzor Umejesi, said the facility would include 8,000 lock-up shops, 1000 open shops, a crèche, clinics, banks, an abattoir, an administrative building, police/security posts, a fire service, and an incinerator, among other amenities, when completed.
Reacting to a recent news publication, Engr Umejesi explained that the Asaba International Market is a different project from the Delta International Commercial City Asaba (DICCA) located along the same corridor.
‘’The first project we did there was to build the Administrative Block, which houses our officials, both government and Efab. Presently, we have done almost all the open shops, which are about 200. Then, among the lockup shops, which are of different sizes, we have completed over 400.
‘’What delayed us in this project is that we are expecting a ground-breaking from the Governor, through the Delta State Capital Territory Development Agency, and so we hadn’t started selling. However, a few weeks ago, we recently got a go-ahead to proceed and sell.
‘’Investors have started indicating interest in owning shops in the market. I do not have the exact data, and so I would not want to quote any figure for now’’ Umejesi said, even as he expressed optimism that the project, which is in phases, would be completed in less than 36 months, barring economic uncertainties.
He explained that the market was designed to serve as a hub, accommodating all spheres of trading, including textiles, building materials, fish, and foodstuffs, among others, within a more organised structure.
Umejesi commended the Delta State Government, under the leadership of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori for creating an enabling environment for business to thrive in the state, particularly in the capital city.
‘’Most of the investors are living in Onitsha and they wish they had their shops here in Asaba,’’ he said, adding that shops at the Asaba International Market are affordable.
On its prospects, Umejesi said the shortfalls of the neighbouring Onitsha Market have been considered and measures taken to avert a repeat at the Asaba International Market.
