Jabi Lake Mall in Abuja situated by Jabi Lake on Thursday threw its doors open to the public drawing huge human and vehicular traffic along Bala Sokoto Way, off Mike Akhigbe Way, Abuja. Adjoining streets like Ebitu Ukiwe Street and Mike Akhigbe Way were packed due to what can be termed shopping extravaganza.
Works on Jabi Lake Mall were scheduled to be completed next year but the urge to get the place work made the developers to open doors for business last Thursday.
Management of the mall said there was need to open for retail activities so Abuja shopping public can go pick stuffs for Christmas/New Year. The grand opening is next year.
The mall’s two exciting anchor brands, Shoprite and the Game thrilled guests to their vast range of goods. When Daily Trust visited, shoppers were seen coming in droves. They left the place with a wide range of merchandise: beverage, fruits, pasta, electronics, toys etc. Many more came to preview the mall.
Facility Manager Jabi Lake Mall Mr Paul Banton said fantastic crowds came to shop. “In the next three months, more shops will come on board so we’ll have a unique retail offer, not only for shopping public of Abuja but also for jobs. Yester nite, I21 shops were fully let,” the facility manager explained.
According to him, between 1,600 and 1,800 employment opportunities are created. “So it’s fantastic for Abuja, it’s fantastic for the economy,” he expressed. He said Shoprite and the Game have so far taken 15 percent of the total facility.
Imminent gridlock
The traffic seen on the day of opening put fears in the minds of motorists. The mall which sits on a total construction area of 26,000sm2 is said to be the biggest in Nigeria at the moment.
The facility manager denied that the place will experience traffic chaos by the time the facility becomes fully open. “Not at all. Every new venture has teething problems. We under estimated the amount of traffic we would generate on our first day - being a Thursday, a lot of people would be at work. We’ve learnt a lesson from that today and we’ll open the car parks…earlier and synchronise…We have 777 parking spaces,” he argued, adding “We’re the biggest and the best!”
All the shops are to be let in three months. Already, 82 percent is so far taken. “We have only the first 16 shop units available to let out of 121,” the facility manager said.
A unique design
Jabi Lake Mall’s design is unique. Management said the architects and the design team worked very hard to learn the lessons of problems of previous designs. Previousdesigns with multiple floors - three, four, five, six levels are very difficult for the shopping public to navigate a shopping centre vertically.
Therefore Jabi Lake Mall’s design is just two floors - ground floor and the first floor. The upper floor is kept open so one can see over the shops below. This attracts people to move up and down. There are conveyors for shoppers to easily slide up and down the mall.
The mall termed “significant investment in Nigeria” has no government stakes. The mall with an estimated construction cost of $100 million was developed through a joint venture between Actis Nigeria and Duval Properties, English and French firms respectively.
Star Artist Chidinma Ekile said, “This is one of the biggest I’ve ever seen. And then it’s beautiful. It’s a very great idea.”
Overwhelming sales on Day 1
Shoprite as a tenant takes one-third of the facility. The retail firm said the turnout on first day tells how Nigerians love Shoprite generally. Branch Manager, Shoprite Godfrey Odamah said, “This is to have a convenient shopping environment. ”
Odamah who could not quantify the value of Shoprite’s investment in Nigeria said, “For every shop opening, we have price discount to all our customers. We’re supporting Nigerian brands -- that’s why we have Nigerian products. That’s why we have the logo of Nigerian flag and we put it on. We manufacture in Nigeria - not what the Nigerian distributor imports from other countries.”
An analyst observed that Shoprite is creating monopoly. “You can access its shops easily. It is in the central area, Apo, and now in Jabi. Nigerians like to shop. If you bring it to them here, they will patronize you,” said the analyst.
It is hoped that Bala Sokoto Way may not suffer the kind of gridlock seen on streets that have had large shops along them like the Dutse-Apo Road and the Memorial Drive, by Musa Yar’adua Center, Central Business District.
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