Traders and visitors at the popular Ariaria International Market Aba, Abia State will soon heave a sigh of relief as the state governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has announced phased redevelopment of the market, ABN TV reports.
Recall that social media has in recent years gone abuzz with images of endless flooding plaguing the market, attracting criticism from against the state government.
This may however be a thing of the past in coming days as the government says the redevelopment of the market will commence Sunday, 5th September, 2021.
The government decries that several efforts to reconstruct the 47-year old market in order to tackle its age-long structural issues with many of the shops as well as provide the necessary modern infrastructure to deal with the perennial flooding challenges particularly with A-Line while delivering other amenities like befitting car parks, conveniences, beautification of the surroundings, improved fire fighting capacity and such other facilities to traders have failed.
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The state government in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi Kalu attributed it to the activities of people he described as “cabal in the market that had been profiting from its current state had sought to place unnecessary legal and other obstacles on the path of government’s efforts”.
This phased redevelopment follows a meeting of the market stakeholders on Tuesday, 24th August, 2021.
The release partly reads, “Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has approved the phased redevelopment of the market as follows:
“1. Traders currently doing business along A-Line, C-Line, and Medical Line are to relocate from their shops on or before close of business on Saturday, 4th September, 2021 to enable the commencement of work the following day, Sunday, 5th September, 2021.
“2. Those affected are to temporarily relocate to Ekumi Shopping plaza or other available shops within the market.
“3. The developers have committed to completing the required work in the phase which includes establishment of proper drainage channels within the affected lines, construction of new shops and parks, before the first week of December 2021.
“4. Abia state government will through subsequent press releases publish the names of existing shop allottees who are guaranteed of their return to the reconstructed shops after completion of the first phase. It is important to state that no existing shop allottee will lose his/her shop after the work.
“5. Governor Okezie Ikpeazu is expected to personally hand back new allocation papers to all the existing allottees on Friday, 5th December, 2021.
“6. Trading activities are expected to continue in other lines that are not affected by the first phase of the redevelopment project while the appointed developers, Messrs Blessed Henkel International Company, are expected to work with the market committee and security agents to ensure full security within the market during the period of redevelopment.
“Government wishes to assure traders that it will work to ensure minimal disruptions to trading activities while executing this project which has now been made more urgent and crucial because of the recent flooding forecast from the Nigeria Meteorological Agency, NiMet.
“We will also not in any way tolerate any attempt by any individual or group to disrupt the planned work as we have consulted widely enough and given enough grace period, long before now, for alternative solutions which never yielded any meaningful result.
“Finally, we solicit the understanding and support of all Abians as we restate our commitment to delivering a modern market to our people.”
