By OKECHUKWU KESHI UKEGBU

A strong hope has risen for Enyimba Hotels – a five-star hospitality facility strategically- located at Aba River slope, popularly known as Aba Waterside. The facility is designed to be a hospitality masterpiece featuring a world-class five-star hotel, event facilities, including a 2,500-seat main hall, multiple smaller halls, and a large exhibition space.

The Gov. Alex Otti-led Government in its commitment to revamp moribund industries in the state has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Radisson Blu to rehabilitate and upgrade the long-abandoned Enyimba Hotel in Aba into a five-star hospitality hub. Part of the terms is the reconstruction and expansion of the hotel as well as construction of an International Conference and Exhibition Centre.

Prior to the signing of the MoU, Gov. Otti had visited the facility for an on-the-spot assessment of this long abandoned project which has become an eyesore in Aba. The governor must also be commended for mustering the courage to resolve the protracted quagmire that trailed previous efforts to revamp the facility.

The government said that the initiative aligns with the government’s aggressive infrastructure development plan to boost tourism and investment in the state’s hospitality sector.

“We have embarked on aggressive infrastructure development in the state and are targeting the next level in hospitality because we want our guest investors to have befitting accommodation for their comfort”.

Part of the cheering news is that the recent initiative would transform the 125-room facility into a five-star hotel and a convention centre, positioning Aba as a top destination in Nigeria’s hospitality industry.

This is indeed great considering the fact that there is a recent upsurge in the hospitality sector which has exposed it to attracting more robust attention. As well, government is projecting the employment capacity of the project to 5,000 job opportunities for citizens of the state. This is indeed great.

While the expected completion period of the project 24 months, the cost of the project is estimated between $25m and $50m, and the state government said it has made budgetary provisions to fund it.

Enyimba Hotels was a dream project of the Ukpabi Asika administration of the defunct East Central State initiated after the civil war. It was supposed to have a standard swimming pool, garden, and other recreational facilities.

The foundation of the seven-storey edifice was laid by the Sam Mbakwe administration of the old Imo State. The project, which was to cost N56 million, had reached an advanced stage with contracts awarded for procurement of furniture and fittings, utensils, among others when the military intervention of December 31, 1983, truncated it.

Regime after regime abandoned Enyimba Hotels until 1991 after the creation of Abia State when it was rumoured that the Aba Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ACCIMA) purchased the facility.

Before now, the facility was converted to the abode of all manner of miscreants who constituted a threat to both the security of the city and the beauty of the neighbourhood.

Revamping the moribund Enyimba Hotels would attract ancillary benefits. It would go a long way in giving a facelift to the aesthetic state of the vicinity.

The location of the facility is very strategic as it serves as an entry and exit points for travellers coming in and leaving from the Akwa Ibom and Cross River axes. It will be recalled that these axes form a major component of commercial activities in Aba.

We must commend the Governor for his efforts in resolving every legal encumbrances around the abandoned project. He is making history as the one who mustered the will to resolve a seemingly intractable quagmire.

At this juncture, all Abians must join hands and support the government in this laudable stride.

•Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu, a public policy analyst, writes from Aba, via keshiafrica@gmail.com