As the popular UTC Shopping Complex finally goes down in ruins, the Federal Capital Territory Administration ( FCTA) said the over 30 years old complex has to be demolished to give way for the needed remodelling of the place.
The administration said the structure was overdue for restructuring to fit into a Shopping Complex model required to grow SMEs to address global business needs and challenges.
A Deputy Director, Monitoring and Inspection, Department of Development, Hassan Ogbole said the structures were defective and there was a need to upgrade them to the standard that will meet global business standards.
Ogbole noted that provision had been made for the traders and other occupants of the Complex to enable reconstruction of the place.
He also stated that enough notices have been given to the occupants of the place, to enable them to move out and allow the construction to start, but many of them refused to vacate, while some deliberately refused to move out.
He said:” The place is in a state of disrepair, the place is no longer habitable for occupation and business activities. The place has to give way to a New development.
“The company handling the development has informed Development Control and we are here to enforce compliance. We have given them enough notice for them to remove their goods, to enable us to start the work”.
Also Speaking, the Secretary, Command and Control, FCTA Department of Security, Peter Olumiji said demolishing the Complex was also needed to curtain the security challenges in the Area.
Olumiji noted that apart from restructuring the place to meet global standards, there was a need to curtail the criminal activities prevalent in the place.
He disclosed that plans to remodel the place were carefully designed to end the thuggery that rubbishes the image of the place, especially faking of official documents.
One of the traders in the Complex, Samuel Onuchukwu, said the traders and other occupants of the Complex were worried because the temporary site provided for the developers, was not secured for business.
Onuchukwu disclosed that many of the traders were yet to remove their goods and properties from the shops and offices.
According to him, they woke up early in the morning on Saturday to learn that the whole UTC area had been barricaded and demolishing going on, with people’s personal goods still entrapped.
It would be recalled that Nigerian Tribune had reported on 20, March 2023, how over 472 shop owners and traders in the Union Trading Company (UTC) building, popularly known as UTC Area 10 market were supposed to relocate to the completed temporary site beside the existing market, following the agreement signed by Abuja Investment Company Limited on behalf of the Federal Capital Territory Administration with Urban Shelter Limited in 2021.
The technical coordinator, Urban Shelter Limited, Engr Ayodele Kolawole disclosed this during the inspection of the temporary market site on the said date. He said necessary measures have been put in place to ensure that nobody is disrupted of his or her livelihood or shortchanged anybody.
According to him, the UTC market building was becoming a slum and a threat to the lives of traders and customers, considering its years of existence, revealing that the remodelling, which will last for a period of two years would be done in sections, as part of the resolutions reached with the traders, shop owners, Abuja market management, Urban Shelter Limited and Abuja Investment Company.
He said prior to the commencement of the remodelling plan, all parties involved had agreed with the former Minister of FCT endorsement.
He said: “The temporary market site for the relocation of UTC traders and shop owners from the existing market is ready, there is nothing to fear, they had over 472 shops there but in the temporary site the shops are 480.
“The market is going to be redeveloped, Minister of FCT want the environment to be facelifted because the area is becoming a slum. The Minister had directed that the market should be given a facelift, and the facelifting is the redevelopment, total redevelopment.
“The developer, Urban Shelter with Abuja Investment Company Limited has put a human face in the matter right from the beginning. They don’t want to push people away from the place they are earning their daily living and throw them into confusion, that is why we have put the necessary measures in place to migrate the traders to the temporary site.
“Prior to the decision, there was a town hall meeting between traders, the executives and members including other key stakeholders, and they both agreed that they will move to the temporary site, aside from the temporary side there were options given to them, but they said they done want to go far away from their business environment because of the fear of losing customers”
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