The sprawling edifice, bedecked with intricate architectural designs, opened its gates at 9am to excited and enthusiastic residents of Kumasi eager to see the various line shops and experience one-stop destination shopping for the first time.
The atmosphere was filled with colourful cultural display and musical interlude from Amamere drama troupe of the centre for national culture and the police band to thrill shoppers and spectators.
The 18,500 square meter shopping centre, located at Asokwa, incorporates 74 shops and restaurants and offers services including grocery and foodstuff, beauty and wellness items, electronics and telecommunications, fashion and clothing, entertainment as well as pharmaceuticals among the lots.
Speaking to journalists, Mr. Kofi Sekyere, Chairman of Kumasi City Mall, said he was happy that finally Kumasi and the Ashanti Region have their own first-class mall and looked forward to its impact on Kumasi’s local economy, lifestyle and business in general.
He said Kumasi City Mall is unique in many ways but repeated his call on the business community of Kumasi to look beyond the convenience offered by Kumasi City Mall and strive to position themselves to take full advantage of the business opportunities that the mall generates.
“Both its construction and business phases of the project contribute to the country’s economic growth by increasing gross domestic product considerably. Also, the construction phase of the project generated jobs for about 1000 professional and artisanal workers, while following its opening for business, at least 500 new job avenues have opened for people in Kumasi,” he said.
He assured that, within three months all the other shops would be ready to commence business and urged the people of Kumasi to patronise the place.
Mr. Sekyere noted that the facility would become a hub and the busiest destination for shopping, general business, social engagements and quality recreation in the city of Kumasi.
He said apart from the generation of employment for thousands of people in the metropolis, residents of Kumasi and beyond could now access both their basic necessities as well as luxuries from underneath one roof- “a convenience factor which had eluded the city for ages.
“Kumasi City Mall is an experiential shopping mall which belongs to everybody in and around Kumasi. The goods, services and entertainment facilities they offer give the people of Kumasi variety of choice,” Isaac Kyei-Mensah, a Board Director of the mall said.
The mall is a development owned by Delico Kumasi Limited, a subsidiary of Delico Property Investments Ghana Limited, the group which owns the Achimota Retail Centre and is the majority shareholder of West Hills Mall.
Delico Property Investments Ghana Limited is itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Delico Property Developments Limited, Mauritius, a joint venture between AttAfrica Limited, Mauritius and Nasek Investments Limited (Nasek), a Ghanaian controlled entity in Mauritius. AttAfrica is the majority shareholder in Accra Mall and is a leading retail property investor in Africa with investments in Zambia and Mozambique and its shareholders own several shopping malls across South Africa.
From Kingsley E.Hope & Faustina Kwabea Osei, Kumasi
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