By CHATULA KANGALI –
PHASE one of the construction of the first-ever wholesale city by Mei Mei Zambia in Ndola at a cost of US$35 million has been completed.
The facility which is modeled on the Dragon City and China Town in Johannesburg in South Africa is expected to sublet to wholesalers and retailers by the end of this month.
A check at the site on the Ndola-Kitwe Dual Carriageway found the contractor SOGECOA Zambia Limited making final touches on the facility.
Mei Mei assistant general manager Philippe Liu said that the first building of the phase one project had been completed and would be ready for trading by the end of December this year.
Mr Liu confirmed in an interview that at least 32 shops of about 90 square metres each would be ready by the end of this month and the company had already signed contracts with wholesalers.
“What you are seeing here is the first building of the phase which is the wholesale city, the second building which will house about 96 shops would be ready by May 2016 while the remaining building would be ready in 2017,” he said.
Mr Liu said the wholesale city would provide warehousing facility to wholesalers and large retail outlets.
The Dolla Hill Shopping Mall would house an amusement park, a shopping mall, a five star hotel and 72 housing units.
He said the entire project would take between eight to 10 years to complete.
