The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, on Saturday 7th June 2014, cut the sod for
the commencement of construction works on the Kumasi City Mall at
Asokwa, a suburb of Kumasi.
The USD 110 million dollar Kumasi City Mall, covering an area of
29,000 square metres, is being developed by Delico Kumasi Limited, an
affiliate of Delico Property Developments Limited, the company
developing Accra’s West Hills Mall which is now less than six months to
completion.
The Kumasi City Mall, described by the developers as having the
potential of overtaking the West Hills Mall in size, is designed to be
rolled out in two phases comprising a retail shopping mall component
with two giant anchor tenants – Shoprite and Game and will offer spaces
for as many as 60 line shops and restaurants. The development has a
possibility of a second phase which, if completed, will deliver a
120-bed ultra modern hotel to the Ashanti capital. The Kumasi City Mall
has an approximate total parking bay for 1,250 cars.
”The absence of a commercial complex of this standard in a city like
Kumasi has been so glaring over the years and I am so happy that at long
last our city is about to get its own world class Mall to promote
business, commerce and recreation among our people,” Otumfuo declared
minutes before he shoveled up earth to signal the start of construction
work on the 15.43 acre land acquired for the Ashanti regional capital’s
first modern shopping complex.
The Asantehene categorically reminded his Chiefs and people that all
lands are vested in the Asanteman stool and that he would personally do
everything to ensure that the lease of lands for productive good and
economically viable development projects would always supersede the sale
of lands by chiefs for any other purposes.
About the Kumasi City Mall told the large gathering of Chiefs, public officials and dignitaries that:
‘Whenever
I traveled to South Africa, I impressed upon my own ‘grandson’, Kofi
(i.e. Mr. Kofi Sekyere, Director of Delico Kumasi Limited, who is a
native of Kumasi) and his partners in Delico to seriously consider the
prospect of investing in a world class mall for our city’.
The developer, Delico Kumasi Limited is a subsidiary of Delico
Property Developments Limited, Mauritius, which is itself jointly owned
by Nasek Investments Limited, a company wholly owned by Ghanaians, and
Atterbury Africa Limited, the investment vehicle into Africa for
Atterbury Investment Holding Limited and Hyprop Investment Limited –
both highly respected South African property investment companies.
With the sod-cutting for Kumasi City Mall, the key projects in
Delico’s development portfolio in Ghana now total three, including the
highly anticipated West Hills Mall and a 14,000 square metre Achimota
Shopping Centre in Achimota, Accra. Atterbury, together with its
investment partners, are the majority shareholders of the Accra Mall.
”It is long overdue for a city like Kumasi to have an address which
caters for business, shopping and recreation, all under a massive and
secured roof and the arrival of Kumasi City Mall at this time will
respond squarely to this demand,” said Mr. Kofi Sekyere, Director of
Delico Kumasi. He said the mall will be completed in July 2016.
Thanking the Asantehene for his personal interventions in the
processes of land acquisition and other licensing protocols, Mr. Sekyere
said, ”In 24 months, this site where we are today will be completely
transformed into a grade-A retail facility and it is our fervent hope
that the city of Kumasi and the good people of Asanteman will give
meaning to this bold investment initiative by participating actively in
the very necessary areas of tenancy and patronage to ensure the success
of the mall.”
Both the Ashanti Regional Minister, Hon. Mr. Samuel Sarpong and the
Mayor of Kumasi, Hon Kojo Bonsu were full of praise for the Asantehene
for his consistent role as a catalyst for development projects in the
region and they respectively commended Delico for making Kumasi a
preferred choice for a mall of this magnitude.
”Today, we are not just breaking the ground for a commercial mall. We
are building a solid and sustainable foundation for progress in
industry in the years ahead…You are building not just a business palace
but a better future for Kumasi, the Ashanti Region and Ghana as a
whole,” Mr. Sarpong added.
The ceremony attracted the High Commissioner of South Africa to
Ghana, Her Excellency Jeanette Ndhlovu, Ghana’s Acting High Commissioner
to South Africa, Her Excellency Martha Pobee and top executives of
Delico and Atterbury from Ghana and South Africa.
Credit: Evans Effah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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