Tejuosho Market Complex ready, offers investment, commercial opportunities
The first phase of the ultra-modern Tejuosho Market is ready for business with over 4,000 shop spaces including lock up and K-Clamp shops, offering investment and commercial opportunities for savvy investors, businessmen and sundry interests in commerce.
The new market complex, rising from the ashes of the old traditional Tejuosho Market gutted by fire in 2007, is strategically located along the Ojuolegba-Itire Road in Yaba with a fascinating and panoramic views of Surulere—a middle class settlement in Lagos.
Construction work started late 2008 on the complex developed by Stormberg Engineering Limited in partnership with Lagos State government under a 25-year build, operate and transfer (BOT) lease agreement.
At a press conference in Lagos at the weekend, the developers said that care has been taken to ensure that traders who would be coming to the complex to do business would carry out their business in a secure, safe, comfortable and convenient market environment.
According to Abiodun Oshodi, the Project Director, in terms of size and facilities, Tejuosho Market ranks among the largest and the best in West Africa, pointing out that in order to maintain a hygienic business environment, 32 toilet facilities have been provided on each floor of the four-level market complex.
Corroborating this, Idris Asumo of MRI-EPS Facility Managers—the firm in charge of the management of the complex—added that there is a 24-hour air-tight security and surveillance of the complex provided by the Nigeria Police and private security outfits engaged by the developer.
In response to the current security challenges in the country, Asumo said that explosive detectors have been put in place to ensure that incoming vehicles to the complex are subjected to thorough screening, adding that over 200 CCTV cameras have also been installed for security purposes.
Parking space, he added, would not be a problem for traders and their customers as the complex has two-level parking spaces, explaining that there are 537 spaces at the basement, 57 spaces up and about 100 spaces outside for customers and other visitors to the complex.
The complex, he said, is connected to the PHCN for electricity supply with two 2,500 KVA transformers as back-up to ensure that the complex has power supply all the time even when the market is closed, adding that adequate arrangement has also been made to contain any fire incident. “A fire station with fire-fighting equipment including smoke detectors and fire alarm plus a 5000 cubic-litre water reservoir buried underground have been provided to ensure that any fire incident is contained”, he assured.
Tokunbo Abiru, Executive Director, Corporate Banking at First Bank, disclosed that funding for the project was provided by his bank, pointing out that in addition to financing the project from conception to completion, they also provided funding facilities in form of mortgage for shop buyers in the complex.
According to him, because of their commitment to supporting viable projects, especially public private partnership arrangements, they provided cheap mortgage facilities for petty traders to whom they gave the facilities at 16 percent interest rate at eight years repayment tenor with only their shop as collateral.
About 85 percent of the 2,460 lock-up shops in the complex have been sold while all the 1,260 K-Clamp shops have been sold out and by the last enquiry, prices of shop spaces range from N7 million each.
Chuka Uroko