A plot of land in Abuja originally designated for a memorial to victims of a 2008 building collapse is being developed into a shopping mall by Port Harcourt-based Hyper City Retail Limited.
According to Daily Trust The land, Plot 230 in Cadastral Zone B05, Utako District, was initially revoked by then Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Aliyu Modibbo Umar, to deter developers from flouting building regulations. It was the site where, on July 29, 2008, a four-storey structure under construction collapsed, killing at least six people, including construction workers and street hawkers, and injuring dozens.
Located on P.O.W. Mafemi Crescent, near the road leading to Jabi Motor Park, the site is now a hive of construction activity. Julius Berger Nigeria Plc is executing the project for Hyper City Retail Limited, which operates a chain of four supermarkets in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Seventeen years after the memorial plan was announced, the plot has been reallocated for commercial use. During a visit to the site yesterday, heavy machinery, including cranes and mixers, was in operation, with dozens of construction workers, engineers, and supervisors on the ground.
