Enugu south local government area of Enugu state has embarked on the construction of an International building materials market with modern facilities along Enugu Port Harcort road.
The new market covering about 26.67 heacters of land when completed would help to decongest the over clouded building materials market at Kenyatta and Amaobia street.
Speaking to Journalists on a fact finding mission in the 17 local government council areas of the state to mark their correspondents week the chairman of Enugu south local government Victor Agbo, said that they have so far constructed 200 shops for Rod dealers out of the expected 1,500 shops and offices in the market.
He explained that the facilities in the new international building material market would include, police post, Drainage system, Banks, toilets, Restaurants and other facilities for easy trading.
“it is a large place that will accommodated all the people in Amaobia and also young ones who are coming up, so that immediately they are settled by their masters they have a space to start their own and not hanging around because they do not have shops”.
“they are also shops for electrical materials dealers while other building material dealers would be accommodated as time goes on”.
On the choice of the location the chairman said it was mainly because of its proximity to the express road and enough space for business activities, that could decongest kenyatta and create a free flow of vehicles inside Enugu city particularly the long ones carring Rods.
According to him all the building materials dealers in Amaobia and Kenyatta would have their goods and the vehicles accommodated ” the market is designed in such away that all vehicles would be parked at the back of the market to avoid blockage and create enough spaces for the Rod dealers to drop their Rods without blocking each other.
“We also have provision for a large warehouse incase any body what’s to store his goods, it is an international market we will provided all the necessary things needed for the traders to operate freely.
Although chairman could not give the date the traders would be expected to vacate to the new market he was optimistic that it would not be long because the market are been constructed in phases and that the LGA is working in partnership with a developer.
He said that the initial plan was for the market people or traders to drive it and build it themselves but for more than ten years they were not able to build it they could not get funding then the Local government in partner with a developer started building it.
The Chairman however noted that they are conflict of interests that land lords of the shops at kenyatta and Amaobia street are forming association to sabotaging the effort and the good intentions of the Local government by feeding the traders with faults information on why they should not relocate.
These Landlords are doing this for their own selfish interest because the Amaobia street was never built as a market and they cause a lot of problems to motorists among many other challenges.
He further stated that the council had also in his first tenure embarked on the construction and reconstruction of 27 roads with culverts and bridges to extend developments to the rural areas but regreted that the current drop in federal allocation has affected those projects.
“It was the IGR that the council used in doing most of the projects at the council”. He said.
Regis Anukwuoji
