Computer Village To Be Relocated To Katangora Market

The very popular Computer Village,ikeja,will be relocated to its proposed site Katangowa Market, along Lagos-Abeokuta expressway.Hmm what say u?See what the commisioner for  Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Olutoyin Ayinde told Vanguard Newspaper;

" Government discovered that the Computer Village is no longer conducive and started making efforts to move the traders operating there to Katangowa. On the other hand, Katangowa is not a virgin land. One part of Katangowa has residential structures, another has the market while the other part is the dump site. The issue of pre-qualifying bidding exercise was when the expression of interest from private investors was invited. The concept was to get investors to rebuild the Computer Village , not before relocating Katangowa to another place called Amikanle. Realistically, we must first go to Amikanle to build a new market and move the people from Katangowa there before rebuilding the Computer Village . This is the issue because it is not possible to start the project at Ikeja when the operators are still occupying that place.

“Also, there are vital issues involved in the Ikeja project that the government is taking into consideration, which makes people think that the project is foot-dragging. For instance, you must first go to Amikanle, to build a new market for traders at Katangowa to relocate to. After that, compensation must be paid to individuals who built structures in Katangowa Market, because you cannot just wake up over night to restructure a place, destroying investments that people put there without adequate compensation. For example, we had a case of the people in Oluwole Market in Lagos Island , where government followed due process and the owners of the place were resettled and also have a stake in the new development. So, when we evaluated all these, some of those who expressed interest initially during the pre-qualifying bidding could no longer cope. Beyond that, we do not want to put the project in the hands of incompetent investors who will abandon it half-way.
“The last time we visited Amikanle showed that the level of development there is so much and will not be wise to clear those buildings and put a market. Aside from that, the location may not be viable to move the market there. At present, we are looking at a new model of how all the activities can co-exist, for Katangowa to accommodate the existing traders, the dealers in computer and allied products from Computer Village and the residential area. From our experience, often times, people who claim to have funds to invest in mega projects do not usually have it at the time the projects are awarded. So, if government starts by putting something there to show commitment, genuine investors will be encouraged to come in. Already, the ministry has started the design of a Digital Village in Katangowa by the state government, which is estimated at about N500million.”