A Lagos-based estate surveying and valuation firm, Messrs M.I. Okoro and Associates, is partnering with Polaris Bank Limited to provide a whooping N5 billion mortgage facility for prospective shop owners.
This was disclosed by the principal partner of M.I Okoro and Associates, Dr Meckson Innocent Okoro at an interactive session with members of the Property and Environment Writers (PEWAN) in Lagos.
He said members of the Electrical Materials Dealers’ Association who presently operate in the Okija area of Garden City, are set to relocate to their permanent site/market at Iriebe, Port-Harcourt.
According to him, Polaris Bank Limited is providing the electrical dealers with N5 billion mortgage facility to assist prospective shop owners purchase 1,720 lock-up shops located along KM 17, Aba-Port-Harcourt Expressway, adding that the sprawling project which is being promoted and marketed by M. I. Okoro & Associates is being developed by Revelation Paints Limited.
Okoro said presently, 600 lock-up shops have been developed out of 1,720 lock-up shops to be developed in the market, adding that, business activities can commence on the readily available shops while the developer continues to develop more shops on planned phased location model to enable the electrical materials dealers to settle down fully for business in the new site which the association has tagged ‘Promised Land.’
“In addition to the 1,720 lock-up shops being developed, traders will also be privileged to have massive warehouses where their goods will be stored for easy distribution to their customers while many of their visiting customers could load and off-load goods within the warehouses and transport to different parts of Nigeria.
“There will also be restaurants located at various convenient points within the market so that traders and their visiting customers will find it easy to eat and save time. There are also well managed toilets in place while electricity supply in the new electrical market will be a combination of solar and independent energy supply from private sector driven arrangement,” he pointed out.
Explaining that provisions have been made for banking halls and other offices to support business operations in the new market that are currently lacking at Okija location, he said the size of each lock-up shop is 14.3 square metres and is developed on the ground and first floor only.
He noted that Polaris bank decided to partner his firm because the firm is a leading professional firm in the country with the specialty in market relocation in Nigeria in addition to being a household name in the real estate industry in the country having been in the business of real estate consulting for over 33 years without any blemish.
