•Project to be completed before November
Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has laid the cornerstone a N2.7 billion shopping complex (Osun Mall) to complement the modernisation of Osogbo, the state capital.
At the ceremony yesterday, the governor said the shopping mall, which occupies a 5,000 square metres of land, is a private venture of Independent Shopping Mall Limited.
He said the mall will provide ultramodern retail, entertainment, relaxation and dining facilities with 2,000 square metres of shopping space, including retail shops, food court and three cinemas.
Aregbesola said the facility will also have automated parking space for 500 vehicles, among others.
On the infrastructural intervention of his administration, particularly in Osogbo, the state capital, Aregbesola said no other government could compete with his administration’s achievements.
The governor said his administration had given the state, particularly Osogbo, a befitting facelift of socio-economic development, which could not be matched by any government since the creation of the state.
He said: “There will be all-round power system for the complex.? When completed, it will complement the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, which is just nearby, to provide recreation for the people of Osun.
“Our people will not need to travel to Ibadan or Lagos to enjoy such facilities anymore.
“So, this Osun Shopping Mall will be the father of all the projects we have completed in Osogbo. I am immensely grateful to God for the cornerstone-laying ceremony we are gathered here to perform today.
“It is our fervent hope that this complex will be ready in November. It will be one of our iconic legacies, even as our administration winds down gloriously in the state.”
The project developer, Gboyega Adeeyo, assured the governor that the project would be completed before the expiration of the tenure of the present administration.
He said the project will enhance socio-economic activities and attract investors to the state.
Adeeyo hailed the Aregbesola administration for its massive infrastructural intervention, saying Osun had implemented infrastructural projects that would be hard to surpass by any other government.
He added that his company would ensure full participation of Osun residents throughout the construction of the project, as mandated by the governor.
According to him, the Osun Mall has been long in coming and Aregbesola encouraged the company not to give up since the idea was conceptualised.