AgegePulse Magazine
Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has said the popular Mile 12 Market traders will soon relocate to a new market at Imota, which, he said, will be ready before the end of December.
The current location of the market at Ketu area, aside from being described as one of the filthiest markets in the state, has also been linked to the regular gridlock in the area.
The governor spoke through the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Adebowale Akinsanya, during a tour of projects by members of the state executive council to Imota, Agbowa Ikosi axis of the state, where the regional food stuff markets, Imota Housing Scheme, Imota Rice Mill and Agbowa Sawmills are located.
He said the first phase of the project, designed to accommodate about 1,500 shops, is already at 75 percent completion stage and would be delivered before the end of the year.
Adequate provisions, he said, have been made in the new market, to avoid the challenges which the present Mile 12 Market and other markets in the area constitute to the environment.
“We have seen what is going on as to our commitment to make this place a regional market. The first phase is 75 percent completed. The major challenge has been accomplished, though we still have some things to sort out, but, we are over the hurdle.
“What remains is to keep going, speed up and with the commitment of this government, we should be able to complete this project by September and, hopefully, by the end of the year, all the different markets in Mile 12 will be able to move here, and it will be a one-shop-centre for everybody,” he said.
The market, which is in two phases, will, among others, have facilities such as 1,000 capacity car park, over 100 capacity trailer park, power stations, sewage system and treatment, bus lay-by, fire stations, concretised roads and drainages.
Also, the governor promised that a 32 tonnes rice mill, which he described as the largest in Africa, currently under construction in Imota, will be ready for commission in the first quarter of 2019
The project, he said, when completed, will provide over 200,000 jobs across the agricultural value chain, while it will also bring about the cultivation of 32,000 hectares of farmland, to produce rice paddy, which he equated to an estimated 130 million Kilogrammes (kg) of processed rice, per year (an equivalent of 2.6 milion 50kg bags of rice
