A US $12.7m modern market is set to be built at Kenya-Uganda border in Busia. The facility which will be built on a 40 acres piece land in Marachi, is expected to accommodate 2,000 traders.
According to East Africa Community and Regional Development PS Kevit Desai, the market would be a one-stop shop where traders will be buying a variety of products and get other services. “This investment breaks a great milestone in our efforts to create a cross-border market to serve the purpose of the informal sector and all those who would like to trade sufficiently across borders,” he said.
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The modern market project
Once complete, the modern market will constitute a business hub, a retail section and part of it will house wholesale businesses. It will provide a secure environment that will accommodate among other things stalls, cold rooms for perishable products as well as stores.
Among business enterprises expected to be opened at the market are forex bureaus, insurance companies and banking facilities. Legal services, consulting firms, beauty shops as well as barbershops will also be accommodated.
The PS further added that the investment is timely owing to the need to ease trade across East Africa. “The purpose of this cross-border market is to address business challenges on one hand and at the same time see to it that trade is facilitated because Busia has for the last couple of years increased trade,” he said.
The 40 acres is part of a 90-acre piece of land committed to the project. The remaining 50 acres will host a school, a police post and other social amenities. The government and development partners will fund the construction of the market. The National Treasury and TradeMark East Africa has already signed an agreement worth US $12.7m to facilitate the construction and completion of the project.
