& another Oxford street in the making

With construction work on-going every day, shops ranging from boutiques through stationery shops to flower sellers springing up every day, and fast food joints and banks competing for space, residents of the area have concluded that the Spintex Road is the next Oxford Street, but much better than the Osu road.

Spintex road, an area originally meant for industries and warehouses has become the ideal place for residential accommodation and big business.

The pace at which the area is developing could not have been imagined by anybody or agency, but what is true though is that, many business owners and corporate institutions are rushing to set up camp there in order to benefit from the human boom and activity there.

The Osu Oxford Street is one of the most popular locations in Accra, noted for the massive concentration of entertainment outlets, fashion houses, restaurants, boutiques, small business outlets, lots of human activity and lately banks and other corporate activities.

The new Oxford (Spintex Road) starts from the Tetteh-Quarshie roundabout, extending eastwards and ends at the Sakumono junction. Obviously, longer in distance and surrounded by a sprouting and rather large residential area than the original Oxford Street.

dailyEXPRESS observations over the period have confirmed strongly that the Spintex Road is fast developing into a major area of attraction not only for the corporate world, but all kinds of businesses.

A couple of years, it was more of a ‘shop’ area, with the shops selling predominantly hardware items after many years of being an area for industries, factories and custom bonded warehouses such as Coca Cola Bottling Company, Kasapreko, Johnson Wax Limited, Printex, CCTC, Eakaza, West Coast etc.

But this has since changed, and the Spintex Road is a beehive of activity with fuel service stations, shopping places, laundries, entertainment joints, fast food joints and banks.

Major Banks are racing to the area since the days of Stanchart which first opened there to questions from people about its appropriateness. Not to be outdone, Barclays opened a Prestige centre to prevent their clients in the area from jumping to their competitor. Prudential Bank, National Investment Bank, Zenith Bank and the International Commercial Bank have since pitched camp.

Ecobank confirmed at their last Annual General Meeting that they will surely set camp there before the year ends. This followed a question from a shareholder who queried the board of directors about the absence of their bank on the Spintex Road.

The banks have clearly extended their competition to the most actively developing part of Accra- Tema, and dailyEXRESS rounds have confirmed that a number of other banks including Cal Bank and UBA Ghana are erecting magnificent structures in the area to house their new branches.

Apart from the baking struggling to get space along the Spintex road, there is a massive construction atmosphere with buildings springing up to house new firms and institutions. Buildings are being put up on every corner and available space.

Significantly, most of the buildings are more than one story, which is obviously maximizing land use.

The centre of attraction though is the multi-complex building that will house the Accra Mall and expected to be in operation by July. The mall when completed will no doubt bring more attraction to the road and also perhaps be the focal point for the Spintex road.

The various oil marketing companies are refusing to be left out and in addition to the Shell, Total, Goil & Glory Oil fuel service stations, about three new stations are under construction.

Spintex Road is also now a popular entertainment enclave. Fast food giants Papaye have already pitched camp, with Mr. Biggs and many other un-branded joints available. Relaxation points are springing up every day and are enjoying great patronage.

Resident population in the area is fast expanding at an alarming rate… from Manet Cottage, Manet Ville, Akuaba Estates through the Coastal Estates, Baatsonaa to Regimanuel, Lashibi, Klagon etc. But the major distraction is the traffic, which starts as early as 5:30am. That notwithstanding, the Spintex Road is ranked high among the best places to live these days if you want to avoid the other crowded areas, and is surely the next oxford street but a better and more upgraded version.