Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly to redevelop old markets

THE Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly in Accra has announced a development plan it has come out with that is aimed at redeveloping old markets in its municipality.

They include the Adabraka Market, Osu Night Market, Tema Station and the Odorna Pedestrian Shopping Mall.

Currently, it said, the redevelopment of Tema Station had already started with the completion of a 64 normal lockable stores that had since been allocated.

The Municipal Chief Executive of the assembly, Samuel James Nii Adjei Tawiah, who disclosed this in an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic said in addition to the 64 that had already been completed, the assembly had also started the construction of 46 normal lockable stores at the same place and another 74 normal lockable stores that were yet to start.

Redevelopment 

He explained that the redevelopment of the Tema Station one, which was being done in phases, was being funded from the assembly’s own Internally Generated Fund (IGF) and Common Fund.

The redevelopment of the Osu Night Market, Adabraka Market and Odorna Pedestrian Mall was yet to start.

He said while the Odorna Pedestrian Shopping Mall would be done through a public private partnership agreement (PPPA), that of the Osu Night Market would be redeveloped in collaboration with the Ghana Tourism Authority, who had expressed an interest in turning it into a tourist destination area.

He explained that the redevelopment of the old markets was meant to solve the street hawking problem in the municipality; stimulate local economic development, create job opportunities for people in the trade and commerce sector and also modernise the markets.

Furthermore, he added, most of those markets they had targeted for redevelopment were old, with some built in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, and their capacity was also limited.

“Because of that, people don't have space within the markets. When we are done with the redevelopment, we will be able to take all the hawkers from the streets and they will be in the markets working,” he said.

He said unlike the old markets, the design of the new ones to be built had been consciously analysed to take into consideration the needs of the market women and so they had smaller, bigger and medium-sized spaces depending on their needs.

Mr Tawiah extended an invitation to investors who were interested in the redevelopment of the markets to come and partner the assembly in that endeavour.

The MCE said, in addition, the assembly was also building two normal zonal council offices at Adabraka.

Beautification 

Mr Tawiah further disclosed that as part of the assembly's strategy to beautify the city, it was working with the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and a Korean-based company to redevelop the Nationalism Park Close to the Independence Square, Peace and Asomdwe Park 

He explained that the aim for the beautification exercise was also to turn them into tourist destinations, adding that in the case of the Nationalism Park, recreational facilities would be fixed there to enable people to go there to relax and for newly wedded couples to go there to take pictures.

He said for the beautification the Nationalism Park, it would be a public-private partnership agreement (PPA) with the assembly handling the landscape. GTA would provide a fence wall around the facility while a Korean-based company would handle the lightning. 

For the Peace and Asomdwe Park, the exercise would be between GTA and the Municipal Assembly.

He said they would all be inaugurated by the end of November.