Nairobi, Kenya: The Kenyan government plans a “state-of-the-art” market with cold storage facilities for fresh produce and flowers for export to East and Central Africa.
The Sh6bn (US$68m) fresh produce market in Nairobi will supply goods to wholesale and retail markets in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia and Djibouti, says Mutua Nzoka, director of markets development in the Ministry of Local Government.
“We shall source funding beyond the exchequer. We have already budgeted for Sh6bn that will be spread across the market development period,” Nzoka says.
The closing date for tenders for the project is next week and the successful consortium will be responsible for all other aspects of the project including the site, design and development.
Kenyan government officials have already looked at markets in the United Kingdom and South Africa as a model for the new market. The project, which received cabinet approval earlier this year, could be operational within three years, Nzoka says.
