Shoppers, plain revelers and of course, ‘movie and chow’ freaks in the Ashanti Regional capital, all said a big ‘thank you’ to Kumasi City Mall and W&D Cinema Limited, when four executive state-of-the-art movie theatres, all fitted with deluxe furnishing and superior acoustics and image projection, were unveiled for public use over the weekend.

The ‘Watch-and-Dine’ Cinema concept is an outright novelty worldwide and features a delightful fusion of the comfort and coziness of a plush movie theatre, with the pleasures of nourishment derived from a good restaurant or eatery.  All four screens at the cinema are 3D and projections are made with High Definition imaging equipment.

“What we have here at KCM is an uncommon concept even in the advanced countries. It is the best anyone can get of two worlds – a movie theatre and a restaurant – rolled into one. KCM’s ‘Watch and Dine’ happens to be the first of its kind in West Africa and is already ranked as the 13^th on the list of highly rated cinemas around the world!”  Osei Agyemang-Duah, Managing Director of W&D Cinema Limited told reporters.

Agyemang-Duah said Kumasi City Mall’s Watch-and-Dine is extremely classy and up to scratch that it has already been rated among cinema heavyweights like the AMC Dine-In in the United States, the Odeon Lounge in the United Kingdom and the Nu Metro Cinema in South Africa.

The Cinema has four screens and a total of 330 seats, comprising 30 seats in a VVIP theatre, 56 Seats in a VIP and two standard theatres, with seating capacities of 137 and 107 respectively while the restaurant offers a lip-smacking variety of continental and local fast-foods. All four theatres operate seat reservation schedules for customers.

Within just days of its opening, ‘Watch-and-Dine’ is already one of the mall’s busiest locations – an irresistible haven for cinema lovers seeking to enjoy movies outside their homes and get to munch on some excellent gourmet. The cinema has become the talk of the town across Kumasi as a perfect rendezvous enclave.

“We, (management of Kumasi City Mall) are extremely delighted with the successful opening of Watch-and-Dine because it brings to our cherished shoppers and patrons another compelling reason to stay on before or after their shopping, to enjoy some quality recreational time here at the mall,” said KCM’s Marketing Manager, John Bedu-Bonsu.

“With this, we (in Kumasi) are now streets ahead and claim full bragging rights for topnotch recreation over any other mall in the country,” said an elated Tony Bediako, a resident of Kumasi, as he stepped out of the theatre after watching a 2018 movie starred by Liam Neeson.

According to Kwabena Obeng, President and CEO of the Steaman Group and W&D Cinema, the facility will be officially commissioned on February 10, 2018.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Many persons drawn from residents in an around Kumasi came to experience the serene atmosphere, buy and window shop.

The US$95 million Kumasi City Mall covers a land size of about 15 acres, situated in Asokwa, a suburb of Kumasi. It houses shops for groceries, beauty, electronics, clothing, pharmaceuticals, jewellery, entertainment and some recreational centres.

The facility is owned by Delico Property Limited, the same owners of the Achimota Retail Center.

It would be managed by a four-member Board of Directors with the day-to-day operations run by Broll Ghana Limited as the property managers, and AttAfrica Asset Managers as the Asset Managers.

Mr. Kofi Sekyere, Chairman of the Mall, said it would offer a wonderful shopping experience to people in the city.

He indicated that, the needs of everybody – people of different income groups, had been taken care of.

He also spoke about hundreds of people, both from within and outside Kumasi, who were going to secure employment.

He said there is no doubt that the Mall would make a significant contribution to the national economy.

The large crowd of shoppers, who thronged the place in the early hours of its opening for business, said they were happy about the serene environment.

Ms. Akosua Asantenkae, a beautician, could not hide her joy, as she told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that “it’s simply fantastic”.

Whilst several people were seen doing brisk shopping, others were just window shoppers.

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, performed the ceremony to start the construction of the Mall on Saturday, June 07, 2014.

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Photos: Lauretta Timah

Source: GNA

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Over a hundred journalists and practitioners from the electronic and print media in Kumasi, were conducted around the sprawling edifice of the shopping mall, and briefed about how it will operate when it finally opens to the public on the morning of Thursday, April 20, 2017.

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who originally cut the sod for the commencement of the project on June 6, 2014, will subsequently perform the formal commissioning of the US$ 95 million KCM on May 10, 2017.

Kumasi’s first modern shopping mall is located at Asokwa, on the confluence of Lake Road, Yaa Asantewa Road and Hudson Street, and sits on a total land area of 15.4 acres with a letable space of 18,500 square metres, and potential for further expansion of up to 10,000 square metres.

Mr. Kofi Sekyere, Chairman of the Board of Kumasi City Mall, told the journalists that the developer, Delico Property Investments Ghana Limited, is assiduously pursuing an agenda of setting an entirely new standard in comparative one-stop destination shopping in Ghana, and said that in the span of just four years, the company’s footprints are boldly visible.

Kumasi City Mall, also known informally as ‘KCM’, is the third straight development by Delico Property Investments Limited, coming after West Hills Mall (2014) and the Achimota Retail Centre (2015), both in Accra.

Aside of the obvious benefits such as the generation of employment for thousands in the metropolis, the residents of Kumasi and its wider catchment area can now access both their basic necessities, as well as luxuries, from underneath one roof – a convenience factor which has eluded this great city for ages.

KCM also provides the bubbly Ashanti regional capital with a modern location for business transactions, social interactions and entertainment. Then over time, as far as food is concerned, the mall will provide a ready market access for fresh produce and help improve local farming techniques and quality control.

Apart from the convenience which a world class mall introduces into the shopping life of the people of Kumasi, Mr. Sekyere said he was particularly excited about the potential impact of the multi-million dollar investment on Kumasi’s local economy, lifestyle and business in general.

“Both the construction and trading stages of this project have generated considerable employment avenues for the youth in Kumasi. What is most desirable now is for the local business community to position itself strategically enough to take full advantage of the myriad of opportunities brought by the Mall,” Mr. Sekyere said.

Mr. Roux Gerber, Development Manager for the project who conducted the journalists around, said apart from the Mall’s balanced tenant mix, unique design principles were incorporated in the architecture and its aesthetic designs to give the facility an ability to deliver on the aspirations, lifestyle and social demands of the average Kumasi shopper and patron.

“Of all the malls in Ghana, KCM is unique in many ways and one of its rare qualities is that, it does not only have a massive parking, it has the biggest basement parking in Ghana,” disclosed Mr. Gerber.

Kumasi city Mall is enclosed at the two extreme ends which house the two main anchor tenants – retail giants Shoprite and Game – but has a semi-enclosed midsection where the food court is located.

The construction phase of the project gave direct employment to nearly 1,000 Ghanaians and engaged mostly Ghanaian sub-contractors who used local artisans, builders, steel workers and wood workers. Besides the mall management staff, no less than 600 workers, mostly from neighbouring communities in Kumasi, are expected to be employed by the various tenants who will operate in the Mall.

KCM is a semi-closed shopping facility, which, according to the developer, has been specially designed to reflect the local environment and lifestyle in Kumasi, adopting highly innovative and cutting-edge technology in real estate development in the construction process. Notably, the edifice’s columns and ceilings are intricately designed to portray and present an artistic view of the trees and forest elements which characterize greenery the Ashanti Region.

With a total car parking capacity of over 1,000 bays on-grade as well as undercover basement, Kumasi City Mall is anchored by two well known retail operators in Ghana, namely Shoprite and Game and has 60 line shops offering a variety of goods and services in various retail categories, including grocery and foodstuffs, lifestyle, beauty and wellness, electronics and telecommunications, budget and designer fashion and clothing.

Other categories are pharmaceuticals, gifts and high value jewellery, restaurants and eateries banking & financial Services and entertainment, children’s games and recreation.

The mall is a development owned by Delico Kumasi Limited, a fully owned subsidiary of Delico Property Investments Ghana Limited, the same group which owns the Achimota Retail Centre and is the majority shareholder of West Hills Mall.

Delico Property Investments Ghana Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delico Property Developments Limited, Mauritius – a joint venture between AttAfrica Limited, Mauritius and Nasek Investments Limited (Nasek), a Ghanaian controlled entity in Mauritius. AttAfrica is the majority shareholder in Accra Mall and is a leading retail property investor in Africa with investments in Zambia and Mozambique and its shareholders own several shopping malls across South Africa. Nasek’s affiliated company in Ghana, Sandpark Properties Limited, is developing a luxury gated residential complex a few meters away from West Hills Mall and is also the Development Manager of the construction of Ecobank’s Head office at Ridge, Accra.

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By: Edwin Kwakofie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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