New mall to create over 1000 jobs

West Hill Mall, a retail shopping mall under construction at Weija, near Accra, is expected to create over 1000 jobs upon completion in 16 months’ time, managers of the project have said.

The facility, which is being constructed on a 24-acre land, will be the biggest retail shopping mall in West Africa come October 2014.

According to Kofi Sekyere, Board Chairman of WHM, over 300 workers have been employed currently in the construction process.

“The project employs five subcontractors in Ghana and a South Africa based main contractor. We expect that by the completion of the project, we would have provided jobs for 1,000 Ghanaians. The initial size of West Hills Mall is 27,000 square meters, but would be increased to 40,000 square meters over time,” Mr Sekyere told CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE in an interview.

The project is jointly funded by Delico, a South African company and the Social Security & National Insurance Trust (SSNIT). 40 per cent of the mall is owned by SSNIT while 60 per cent belongs to Delico.

One of the most fascinating features of West Hills Mall is its massive entertainment and recreational arcade, which has a special square for open-air concerts and theatrical shows with a sitting capacity for 1,500.

The mall is also expected to have 65 line shops from Ghana and around the world with two major tenants – Shoprite and Palace Supermarket.

“The initial cost of the project is US$93 million but this amount might increase to US$100 million upon completion in October 2014. The mall has been designed to meet international standards, so a parking space and a recreational centre will not be a problem,” he said.

Mr Sekyere said that measures had been put in place to avoid vehicular traffic around West Hills Mall.

“We have a specially-designed interchange near the mall to ensure smooth vehicular traffic flow and we have also designed a pedestrian underpass for persons entering the mall on foot so they will not compete with vehicles.”

Upon completion, West Hill Mall will be twice the size of the Accra Shopping Mall.