The national government through the State Department for Housing and Urban Development will construct a modern market in Wote town at a cost of Sh347 million.
Eastern Regional Director of Housing Patrick Mwangi has said a contractor for the envisaged two-storey building had already been identified and the actual construction works will start in the next two weeks at Kwa Ngua open market in Wote town, Makueni Sub county.
Mwangi disclosed that ground floor of the building will accommodate traders dealing with butcheries, cereals and fresh vegetables, complete with cold rooms for storage.
The 1st Floor will be for those selling household electronic goods, besides hosting a social hall with a capacity of 180 people, a prayer room and wash rooms, while the 2nd Floor will comprise ICT hubs, barber shops, two kitchens and saloons, as well as offices for county officials and the market committee.
Equally, a borehole will be sunk, besides having a powerhouse with a generator and parking, loading space and a pump house to pump water to two tanks that will be installed in the building.
“Click Connection Limited (contractor) has been awarded the tender and will be supervised by Lins Consultant Limited and we expect the works to be complete in the next 18 months,” said Mwangi during an inception meeting chaired by the Makueni Ag. County Commissioner Stanlaus Apwoka in his Boardroom at Wote town.
“When President Dr William Ruto visited here, he promised to upgrade the market for the respect he has for traders. They need dignity and not to work in the hot sun. The modern market will accommodate 1,000 traders,” he added.
Those present in the meeting included county government officials led by the County Secretary Dr Justine Kyambi, Makueni Constituency Member of Parliament (MP) Susan Kiamba and Wote open-air market officials.
The Housing Director disclosed that the market will have a positive impact on the economy of Wote town once complete, while at the same time creating jobs for the unemployed youths in the county.
In this regard, he called for concerted efforts from the local leaders to ensure the market was constructed without any conflict that would hamper its progress.
On her part, Kiamba supported construction of the market saying the people of Makueni should get their share of the national development kitty since they are taxpayers.
“We want to ensure we get a share of our money. It is good to take advantage of this opportunity to boost development in the county,” she said.
During the meeting, the MP revealed that the national government had agreed to construct a hostel comprised of 300 rooms at Wote Technical Training College (WTTC) for its students.
Kiamba has also written a proposal to the national government to construct a similar number of rooms at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC)-Wote Campus.
The county secretary said the market initiative is spearheaded by the governor and should be fully supported, as it will greatly assist the people of Makueni county.
Dr Kyambi said already they have spoken to the traders saying there will be no problem in the implementation of the project.
On his part, the County Commissioner said that most of the stakeholders had agreed to construct the market saying the works should start as soon as possible.
“There is goodwill from all the stakeholders, and there is adequate land where the traders will be relocated. We expect the works to begin soon,” said Apwoka.
Those present included County Executive for energy and Infrastructure Eng. Peter Mumo and his counterparts Nicolas Nzioka (Devolution), Paul Musila (Lands, Urban Planning), Japtheth Mang’oka (ICT, Education and Internship) and Damaris Kavoi (Finance), as well as the County Attorney, Stanley Nthiwa among other national and county officials.
By Patrick Nyakundi
