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Students to help city hall design Sh2bn market


Nairobi County is partnering architecture students in local universities to develop designs for various facilities at the planned Kariobangi fresh produce wholesale market.

The new market whose construction is expected to start next year will house traders currently at the five-acre Wakulima Market.

Executive Member for Trade, Industrialisation and Tourism Anna Othoro told Nairobi News that the County would not be setting up sheds as is the case at Muthurwa Market.

She said it would instead be a proper market with compartments for the traders to store their goods.

“We will also be developing storage facilities, cold rooms and a food processing plant to make sure that nothing goes bad,” she added.

Overall, the county is looking to spend over Sh2 billion on the market. It is hoped that fresh produce will be repackaged there for onward transmission to other counties or export.

The defunct City Council of Nairobi had last year planned to move the congested Wakulima Market to Kawangware, but the traders rejected the move.

It has been pointed out that the market which has spilled to Haile Selassie Avenue poses danger to pedestrians forced to compete for space with speeding vehicles.

The market has for a long time served as the wholesale point where fresh produce is distributed to retail markets of Gikomba, Kawangware, Kangemi among others.