Thirty-one thousand shops have been earmarked for remodelling at Ekeoha Shopping Centre, Aba, and its Osisioma Extension at the outskirts of the city to international standards.

Abia State’s commissioner for trade, commerce and industry, Chimezie Ukaegbu stated this at a town hall meeting with leaders and traders of the centres in Umuahia, the capital.

He said 6,000 shops are at the main centre, which is in the heart of the commercial city, while 25,000 are at the extension which occupies over 80 hectares of land.

“These projects are aimed at bringing the centres up to international standards in line with the importance the government attaches to ease of doing business as a policy, “ he explained.

Ukaegbu, who noted that the essence of the meeting was to brief the leaders and traders on the projects, assured them that the jobs will be done to benefit them and the government.

He dismissed the assertion that the traders will be disposed of their shops on completion of the projects, saying the shops will be returned to them as long as their allocation papers were genuine.

In a remark, the developer of the projects, Chinedu Onyeizu noted that when completed, the centres will be fitted with state-of-the-art requirements at such International business centres.

He said, in the meantime alternative locations had been secured for them at Enyimba Mall, and the GSM Market, noting that the first phase of the projects will be completed before the next demolition.

Onyeizu assured that the markets will not be demolished until a tripartite agreement between representatives of the centres, the ministry, and himself had been concretized.

Similarly, the grand patron of the centres, Mike Madubuko blamed previous governments’ policies for most of the challenges at the centres, expressing the hope that they will come to an end.