Investors of Imo International Modern Market Egbeada/Ubomiri, has said the market can generate employment to over 6000 Imo people including strangers if harnessed with all shops and warehouses in the market being fully occupied by prosperous and promising traders and industrialists.
In order to make the market more attractive for viable business for traders and industrialists, one year free shops and warehouses are going to be allocated to them as they come in. The forum said it has made more effort to improving the market to ensure that prospective business men and women benefit optimally from their marketing.
In an interview with journalists at the market last week, Chairman, Investors Forum, Imo International Modern Market Egbeada/Ubomiri of Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State, Chief Val Osuala, noted that from October 2021 to October 2022, “any trader or industrialist who comes in here will not pay for any shop or warehouse rent because state government wants citizens to get involved in commerce and industry to improve their welfare. You just pay government one thousand naira stallage fee for twelve months, you pay only six thousand naira fee for daily expenses on advertisement, water, drainage system among others to management”.
The Chairman added that “out of the #6500, #1500 is for the trader to be properly incidented in the security book so that whatever you bring in the market security men will be in charge of it. There will be an agreement between you and them- that is- you pay them #1500, give the management #5000 plus #12000 to make it a total of #18500 to access every shop”.
When asked how much is per shop, the investors mentioned that “after one year, improvement on the market will determine the price per shop, as no trader will be allowed to pay an investor more than #5000 per shop. All money will be paid into government bank account via the Treasury Single Account (TSA)”.
Maintaining that the market was built in 2017 in Public private partnership (PPP) agreement with Imo State government, Osuala hinted that there are facilities of the state-of-the-art in the market such as warehouses, toilets, electrify, borehole, drainage system, large parking space, standard road to every building (shop).
“Hence we should not allow this place to die. This market is erected for the economic benefit of the people of Imo State. Practically, this market can create employment to over 6000 Imolites if fully occupied by traders and industrialists”, he averred.
Remarking that the market was initiated and started in 2017 by the Rescue Mission administration led by Rochas Okorocha who announced that investors who were interested to developing the state economically should come forth, the Chairman reflected that many investors indicated interest and invested hugely in the market with a view to making rich profit and impacting to the society positively, but were disappointed by Okorocha who he said hastily demolished Ekeukwu Owerri Market barely two months they started the buildings, causing “the traders in Ekeukwu Owerri to surge into Egbeada Market who left again in droves to Alaba Market having discovered that Egbeada Market was not ready for business as Okorocha earlier boasted”.
The investors are however wooing traders to come into Egbeada Market and trade, as there are security, conducive environment with tiny amount on price of shop and warehouse renting, recapping that traders and industrialists who are already at the Egbeada Market are enjoying the place as customers troop in for patronage, promising to continue to keep the market neat, secured and serene for bounty economic activities to achieve more success.
