The opening of the new Wakulima Market along Kangundo Road again. Officials from both the national government and Nairobi County made the announcement and said that it will delay with more than 16 months after its completion.
The officials explained that there are some adjustment works being done at the two-storey market before it is handed over. Construction of the fresh produce market began four years ago before its completion in December, 2019.
“We expect the contractor to be done with the changes within weeks before leaving the site. Thereafter, we will open the market to traders. However, I cannot tell the specific date of the unveiling,” said Ms Gathagu.
Wakulima Market
Construction of the market, which began in 2018, was funded by the World Bank with the aim of compensating small-scale traders who were displaced during the construction of the Outering-Kangundo Road. It is located in Embakasi West sub-County, and has 158 lockable stalls and other spaces for business that are not stall-oriented, shower blocks on each floor as well as external washrooms, and four water storage tanks with a capacity of 10,000 litres and two more underground ones with a capacity of 900,000 litres.
The market is set to be opened to more than 2,500 traders. Ms Gathagu affirmed that already a multi-agency team has been set-up to work on the allocation criteria with 900 traders that had been relocated from the project site to be given first priority during the allocation process. The team consists of officers from the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS), Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) and the county government.
“The multi-agency team will come up with a criteria to ensure the allocation process is smooth, fair and transparent. The market will benefit traders in the area by creating a safe and clean place to conduct business,” said Ms Gathagu.
