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Business and
leisure activities are gradually picking up at the Tinapa Business and
Leisure Resort, Calabar, Cross River State following the approval and
gazetting of its operational guidelines by the federal government.

Several state
governments, including Imo and Rivers, recently held some of their
conferences and retreats at the Resort, while some foreign groups are
also taking advantage of the serenity and ambience of Tinapa to do
business.

The number of
visitors to the Resort has also increased appreciably, to the delight
of the people of Calabar who have for long wondered when commercial
activities would kick off at the multi-million naira centre. A greater
chunk of the visitors however patronise the T-Mart, a retail shopping
emporium which is about the size of two football fields.

So far, no fewer
than a million people from within and outside Nigeria have been to the
retail shop since last December when the shop, which is run by American
trade experts threw its doors open to the public.

“Over 100
containers have come into the Tinapa over the last three months,”
Managing Director of Tinapa, Bassey Ndem said. “These are goods that
are not in the absolute prohibition list, including general cargo,
electronics, textiles, building materials, home wares, consumables and
so on. Those are the ones coming in now. But we are talking to other
people that want to bring machineries.

Somebody has brought in papers, another person iron rods. Many goods are coming in now.”

Ready for business

Mr Ndem said prior
to the release of the gazette, a number of people had come in to make
enquiries about taking shops at the complex, but it was not possible to
seal the deals because the operational manual had not been released by
government.

“In fact, Tinapa
is getting out of the woods and there are about 53 different companies
operating at the Tinapa now. The Amber Tinapa (an hotel) is ready and
has been in use. The Water Park, the biggest in Africa is ready and in
use. So, why should you go and look at another water park at Orlando or
anywhere else when this one is available?” He said the facility was
ready to provide a year’s rent free to people who invest in the shops,
coupled with other mouth-watering attractions.

One of the investors, Charles Oku said the children’s arcade is a source of joy to kids.

“T-Mart, which is as good as any shopping mall in America or in Germany is ready and is selling,” he said.

“It is the first
and only duty-free market in Nigeria and I think the entire Tinapa has
offered very wonderful opportunity to Nigerians to transact business
and get those things that they would have travelled and paid so much to
get abroad.” There are however still several challenges ahead. About a
year ago, the only shipping line in Calabar withdrew its services,
while importers of goods into Calabar resorted to Onne and Port
Harcourt ports because of bad roads and the shallow level of the
Calabar water channels.

Mr Ndem said the
state government is pushing for the dredging of the Calabar River
Channel, dualization of the gateway roads to Calabar and improvement of
facilities at the Calabar airport.

He also said Tinapa
intends to acquire three more ships, as well as increase its freight
from 4,500 to 36,000 metric tonnes so as to serve the South-South,
South East and the North East Zones.

“The management even has the hope of floating a Tinapa Airline in future,” he said.