Gov. Ambode commissions First Festival Mall in Amuwo Odofin

In a bid to encourage private sector efforts at boosting infrastructural development of the state, Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos State, has commissioned First Festival Mall Ltd, a multibillion naira shopping complex situated in Amuwo Odofin area of state.

The splendid building is a joint venture between Urban Property Development Company (UPDC) Plc, and Africa Capital Alliance as well as UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust.

The mall has various facilities including, 500 car parking bay, sewage treatment plant, water treatment plant, fire alarm and fire fighting system. It also has 24/7 CCTV surveillance system, armed police patrol and an independent power plant.

The mall comprises 47 retail shops, including two anchor tenants (Shoprite and Silverbird Cinemas) and 45 other retailers offering diverse products and services ranging from the food court to line shops which consisting of fashion, beauty products, telecommunications, banks, pharmaceuticals and furniture.

First Festival Mall is located in a commercially and entertainment node that include the newly built Golden Tulip Hotel Conference Centre and the Residences, a block comprising 195 condo minions.

Speaking at the occasion, Governor Ambode, who was represented by Benjamin Adeyemi Labinjo, his Special Adviser on Commerce and Industry, said “Festival Mall Ltd. will no doubt contribute to the improvement life of the people and economy of Lagos, especially in job creation and wealth generation.”

The governor assured that his government would  continue to enact the right economy policies that would promote trade/investments in the state for socio-economic well-being of the people of Lagos, noting that a thriving private sector is critical to the realization of goals of the state to substantially increase productivity, create wealth and job opportunities for Lagosians.

He commended the management of UPDC for its vision and wisdom in building the mall and thanked the organization for giving him the honour to commission the project.

Notably, UPDC’s financial partner, Stanbic IBTC, provided a $9million bridge facility as part funding to commence the development phase of the mall and subsequently refinanced the amount with the provision of seven years $25million medium term loan facility representing 50 percent of the total project cost.

In addition, the bank provided additional support via transactional banking and hedging product to further enhance the project feasibility.

In a congratulatory message, Ademola Shogunde, deputy managing director, Stanbic IBTC, said his bank was delighted to join the project sponsors, UAC Property Development Company (UPDC), Africa Capital Alliance and the UPDC REIT in celebrating the grand opening of the mall.

“Stanbic IBTC coupled with the Standard Bank Group is proud to support candidate real estate project in Nigeria, which contribute to economic growth, improve infrastructure development and ultimately create jobs for Nigerians. It’s our belief that the mall, would provide a cultural hub and diversity for the surrounding host community and would be the first modem retail facility within the location”, Shogunde stated.

Also in his speech, Hakeem Ogundiran, managing director, UPDC Plc, said, the Festival Mall was conceptualized in 2011, “generally due to absence of modern formal retail channels in Festac Town and its environ.

“The mall was born out of UPDC’s desire to create a destination point for Lagos State residents around Festac, Amuwo-Odofin, Mile 2, Ojo Alaba, Orile and Okota to have an experience of a formal shopping mall”, Ogundiran said.

Highlight of the ceremony was the cutting of the tape at the mall, by the Special Adviser to the Governor, who toured the mall for inspection in company of the management of UPDC, journalists and some of the dignitaries. The Special Adviser expressed satisfaction at the quality of facilities he saw and eulogized handlers of the project for a job well done.

Fielding question from newsmen, Labinjo assured that the state government had put in place adequate security measures to make Lagos a safe haven for investments.

Dignitaries at the occasion include; Ajibola Ojodun, chairman, Amuwo-Odofin, Godfrey Michel, managing director, Capital Alliance Plc, traditional rulers among others.