PROPERTY NEWS

Prior to the inauguration of the Onitsha Business Park (OBP) in February 2008, the town was more of a city of traders, with people coming from all parts of Africa to buy and sell but rarely residing and investing there. The city was also notorious with the prevalence of criminals.

But the OBP appears to have turned things around, what with Governor Peter Obi's heeded persuasion on the traders to invest in stocks rather than acquisition of landed property.

Essentially, the four-storey OBP was conceived as a one-stop centre for financial transactions. Situated on a landscaped plot of land in the GRA, it houses the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), banks, insurance companies, capital market operators as well as a sizeable parking area.

The Anambra State Government has embarked on the N20 billion "Mixed Development" that entails a 1,800-room hotel equipped with a square, conference and convention centres, a shopping mall incorporating South Africa's Shoprite, luxury homes and independent power supply.

A source close to the government said, "It is structured in such a way that it will be done under a private, public partnership (PPP) basis, and will comprise a road network and cab system. The development will be carried out in phases. The idea is that the state government will throw in their land and have seed capital to act as a catalyst for the business environment. One good thing is that we have other investors we are dealing with, such a South African Group and the Protea Hotel Group is managing the hotel and has keyed into what we are doing. The project manager and everything have come from South Africa. The construction of the complex will be done by one of the best firms in the whole world. Under PPP, the state is not expected to take more than 20 percent, so that whether Governor Peter Obi is there or not, it's irrelevant. What is important is that the project when completed will be able to drive the economy of the state. The idea is that the people that will affect it will be in the same environment and will be enough to sustain the state. And we intend doing the same kind of project in Ikenga Hotel in Awka. For now we chose Onitsha because Onitsha is the cash cow of the state at the moment. Once we get Onitsha right, whatever we generate from this will be enough to sustain whatever we are doing in the state. We believe the kind of investment we are looking for is the best offered by Onitsha. After Onitsha we come down to Awka and do the same in other parts of the state."

Over a year after work began on the OBP, government awarded contract for the construction of the second OBP (to be dedicated to ICT) to three firms for N235 million. The contractors have according to the source, the second OBP carries the same vision as the first.

"It is dedicated to ICT because that is where the future lies. When the firms come in here, one of them will run an academy where even our youths will be trained, where they will be empowered intellectually so they can be trained in the use of modern technology. The synergy you create among firms of the same and diverse interests being in the same place has a multiplier effect to what we are doing because the whole telecommunication firms are going to be here, so you create employment. Apart from empowering our people intellectually and adding value to what we are doing here the future is with telecommunication and that is where there is a high growth rate in our economy as a result of direct foreign investment," he said.

On why the government chose Onitsha, he said, "We believe that if we get the economy of Onitsha right, the trickle-down effect will be felt in both Nnewi and Awka. That is why we are concentrating most of our efforts in Onitsha here because the kind of money we are looking for to generate is best offered by Onitsha. Presently, Onitsha is the best place. We looked at our Return On Investment (ROI) in Anambra State and it shows that Onitsha is the best place to get this. We are not doing it on sentiments; we do it with the assistance of the private sector because we believe Onitsha offers the best opportunity for foreign investors and for people who want to key in what we are doing. We are providing the basic infrastructure so that we can attract those firms to come in. And when they come in here they will come with all sorts of facilities."

He said that the park would boast of the best of facilities comparable to any city of the world "so that when you come in here, you operate under the same environment you operate either in Johannesburg or in New York, with the same kind of facilities. That is the only way to attract foreigners."