The seeming abandoned Krofrom Market Complex project has now turned into a haven for criminals and wee smokers.
It nearby residents are now living in fear as the criminals have resorted to terrorising them.
Currently, wee smokers, criminals and a section of residents have turned the Krofrom Market project into a place of convenience.
The project, initiated by former President John Agyekum Kufuor, was jointly commenced by the Regional Coordinating Council and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, under a Government of Ghana funding as a Jubilee Project to increase retail space in the Metropolis.
Eight companies were awarded the contract and paid a total of GH¢1,014,558.02 as at November 2008, as 20 percent mobilisation fee of the contract sum.
The contractors are Messrs Sir Bans Designs and Building Company Limited, Orabek Ghana Limited, A. BEK Limited, Joevid Company Limited, Messrs Attachy Construction, E. Owusu Mensah & Company Limited, Messrs Stanbay Limited, and Messrs Jinas Construction Limited.
About 1,900 traders and 20 transport operators then occupying the space were displaced to make way for the implementation of the then GH¢15,001,023.41 project in 2008, but has stalled all these years due to irregular flow of funds.
In spite of frantic efforts by the management of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to ensure its completion, the project remains stalled.
In 2019, all the eight contractors, who won the bid to execute the construction of the Krofrom Market in 2008, returned to site to commence work only for the project to stall again.
Last year, the Metro Chief Executive, Samuel Pyne, also announced that the KMA was negotiating with the International Municipal Investment Fund (IMIF) to secure support for some selected projects, including the Krofrom Market.
The concerned residents have appealed to authorities to ensure the completion of the project, as criminals were also using part of the facility as their hiding place due to the bushy nature of the area.
The Assembly Member, Kwaku Appiah, has appealed to the government to complete the project.
