The nightmares and losses traders incur during fire outbreaks in the harmattan season would be a thing of the past in Aba when the EKUMI United Association completes the building its fire resistant shopping plaza in the commercial city.

Apart from curbing fire disasters, the ultra-modern plaza would also avail its users day-care and hospital facilities as well as cold room to preserve perishable goods.

A member of the Consortium and its Public Affairs Executive, Dr. Uju Anusionwu, who disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Aba on Tuesday, said the group took the decision to build the EKUMI Shopping Plaza in Aba to check losses traders incur annually from fire outbreaks in the South-East.

“The entire conception is to build, a fire-proof market in Aba. And this plaza is a fire-proofed market so that there will be nothing like fire incidences tomorrow destroying traders’ wares.

“We have in place, what is called hydra-points to be established here so that whenever there is any smoke, water will start emitting from those hydra-points. We have a borehole to service it all year round,” Anusionwu said.

According to him, the plaza will ease Aba community’s stress in shopping, especially during the rainy season with its ultra-modern facilities and special design.

He said: “It will accommodate a Crèche for market women to keep their children on the first floor. On the second floor, it will contain a Maternity and Dispensary to take care of minor medical cases and child delivery for women who get into labour in the market.

“Some people may have a sensation that could cause them heart attack. Such persons can use the dispensary to save their lives.

“The plaza will also have a cold room where after the day’s sales, dealers on perishable goods would preserve them and pay to collect them the next day.

“We also have a ‘left-over’ centre which would cater for the missed baggage forgotten with the cart pushers. We will give tags or token to shoppers and when they finish buying, with their load, they will return them.

“We have also made provision for restaurant so that people can eat good food during shopping, there is also provision for urinary, toilet and bathrooms so that people can shower and also urinate or go to toilet and pay a small token with ease.”

Anusionwu said that the design of the buildings would ensure that, at all times, from one particular block, a shopper could access other blocks without coming down.

He also noted that the plaza has a banking hall to enable shoppers do banking transactions with ease. The construction of the building is in progress.

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