As part of it effort to attract influx of tourists and open business opportunities, Ondo, a State in Western Nigeria, tapping on its tourism potentials has delivered some of its projects aimed at shifting the over dependence of the State from being predominantly made up of civil servants into an economic hub. This new drive is aimed at raising the State’s economic fortunes through stimulating diverse bubbling businesses and economic activities and opportunities, all in an effort to woo tourists and transform the State into a preferred tourists’ destination.
This giant stride was revealed when the government unveiled its multimillion dollars multipurpose economic center which the idea to have a comprehensive economic hub was developed by Governor Olusegun Mimiko to infuse elements of commerce into the civil service setting of Ondo State and, to make it a preferred destination for business people and for fun seekers, said the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade.
“The Governor is taking advantage of the tourism potentials of our environment to promote commerce. Development can only come through an influx of visitors into the state,” said Akinmade.
The government’s objective, he said is to turn Ondo State into tourism destination and that they have been able to identify a tourism corridor, which extends from the location of the conference centres through the mall to Idanre Hill Resort, which he said has been transformed.
“We held Mare festival there about a month ago and visitors testified that it was a festival like no other.”
The quest to become a tourism destination, he said must have hospitality facilities that would attract and hold visitors, explaining that people coming into the city for conferences must have good hotels.
He said the Idanre Resort has a standard golf course that is being used for competitions, adding that this has employment opportunities for the youth who will serve as assistants to golfers and for those who tend other facilities in and around the golf club.
“We want to make Ondo State the hub of golfers in the years to come. One can only imagine what business this will bring to Ondo State, particularly for our youth.”
The hitherto serene environment of Akure, the Ondo State capital city is awakening to an interesting liveliness, fueled by increasing activities attracted to two facilities, built for use as conference and play centres. These structures have been developed to international standards and are located where is now designated as a commercial avenue in Akure’s GRA.
On the high street is an exquisite mall which has the reputable Shoprite store as its anchor tenant and, also has a cinema with five screens as well as shops of good standing.
The conference area has two wings, the Dome and the new centre fitted with systems for any form of stage presentations and movie production.
The International centres… The government has adopted a multi-development approach to the state’s development, said Akinmade, “We don’t want to have one city that is the reason we are developing many cities at a time. In the north, we have Owo and we are also looking at Ikare; in the central, we have Akure and Ondo; in the south, we are looking at Okitipupa and Igbokoda. We want our cities and towns to develop at the same pace.”
The conference centre is built on 36.05 hactares of prime land, according to the Project Manager, Pastor Ayo Babalola, who conducted a tour of the facilities.
The entrance to the arena is through a security gate and the path leads to a roundabout that has a water fountain in the middle. The water is timed and has different themes and colours. “The dancing fountain is what people go to Dubai to view and it generates a lot of revenue.
The new centre is on the left side of the arena while the Dome which has three clusters is on the right. The biggest of them has capacity to accommodate 1,100 people; the smaller ones are for mini-banquet and other sessions. There is an arts gallery in the second Dome. “It is the largest arts gallery in the country,” Babalola, the Director, Planning Research and Statistics, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development said.
Under the big Dome are syndicate rooms for meetings; and storage rooms. Under the third Dome, which is built with glass, is a night club and, behind all of them are the administrative block and sanitation facilities. The facilities are accessible to everybody, particularly for the physically challenged.
The new Civic Centre structure on the left of the arena is designed for similar functions but has a little more. Its shape is different and it is built with glass and steel with tiles and minimal block work.
He said the span is 130 metres and there are no columns inside and, has two halls; the main hall can accommodate 2,000 people and the smaller one can take 420 people minimum. There are syndicate rooms that can seat 40 people. There is a kitchen; toilets; restaurants, among others.
The hall can be used for stage shows/ drama and cinema shoots. There are rooms back stage for all that is required to prepare artistes and actors for their roles, including makeup rooms.
Backstage also is a waiting room for VIPs to wait before entering the stage through a private link-door.
The project, he said began in 2010 and that the government has not stressed itself financially to get them built. These facilities, he said have encouraged the development of other facilities like the Akure Mall, a five-star hotel that is planned across the road from the conference centres. “This is what has encouraged investors to partner with the government to build other facilities.”
The government, he said is working on appointing a facilities manager to handle them and that there would likely be legislation to ensure that their functions are not disrupted by anyone or even by the next government. “I know we will generate money from the facilities; the water fountain, car park that will be automated, there are other PPP structures coming up within the arena that will generate money for the government.”
There are smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, regardless of the fact that the materials used in their construction are fire-proof. The facility is also sound/echo-proof.
