By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The Federal Capital Development Administration FCDA, today finally demolished the popular 30 year old UTC Shopping Complex 11 to give way for the needed remodeling of structures to meet modern standards.
A Deputy Director, Monitoring and Inspection, Department of Development, Hassan Ogbole said the structure was overdue for restructuring to fit into an upgraded Shopping Complex model required to grow SMEs and to meet global business standards .
Ogbole noted that a provision had been made for the traders and other occupants of the Complex to enable reconstruction of the place.
He disclosed 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 for development.”
” The company handling the development has informed Development Control, and we are here to enforce compliance. We have given them enough notices for them to remove their goods, to enable us to start the work.”
Secretary, Command and Control, FCTA Department of Security, Peter Olumiji said demolishing the Complex was also needed to tackle 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 remodeling the place, were carefully designed to end the thuggery that rubbishes the image of the place, especially faking of official documents.
An affected trader in the complex, Samuel Onuchukwu, said the traders and other occupants of the complex are 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.
He lamented that 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.
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