Chairman of Port Harcourt Local Government Area (PHALGA), Hon. Allwell Ihunda, has pledged to rehabilitate the Garri Market, along Churchill Road in Port Harcourt Township.
This followed an assessment visit he made to he market as part of efforts to identify areas requiring urgent intervention by the Council, to assess its condition and determine the appropriate intervention required.
Addressing traders after a guided tour of the market, the chairman expressed concern over its deplorable condition and assured them that the Council would put the necessary modalities in place to rehabilitate and give the market a befitting facelift.
Hon. Ihunda reiterated his administration’s commitment to creating a conducive environment for businesses to thrive, adding that the proposed intervention would be carefully planned to make the market safer, more functional and suitable for both traders and customers.
Responding to the traders’ request for a phased reconstruction of the market, Ihunda said their concerns would be taken into consideration during the design stage of the project.
Welcoming the chairman, the Councillor representing Ward 7 in the PHALGA 10th Legislative Assembly, Hon. Christian Iminabo, thanked him for the visit, describing it as a “day of restoration of hope” for residents and traders in the area.
Iminabo commended the chairman for the proposed complete redesign of the market and assured the traders that their request for a phased construction approach would be presented to the chairman during the design process.
He, however, noted that relocating the market completely during the reconstruction could have implications for its established customer base.
“If we allow them to go, we’ll lose customers that are already here because they’ll get used to other areas, shops, markets and others”, Iminabo said.
Earlier, the traders had appealed to the chairman to consider a phased reconstruction rather than completely shutting down the market during the project.
They expressed concern that relocating traders, suppliers and customers could disrupt the market’s established trading network and make it difficult to attract patronage back after the reconstruction.
The traders thanked the chairman for heeding their concerns and expressed optimism that the proposed intervention would improve the market’s infrastructure and trading conditions without disrupting its established network of traders, buyers and suppliers.
- Matthew Information/Public Relations Officer, PHALGA.