Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) has begun the facelift of eight open-air markets in the city.
Speaking on Thursday, April 1, NMS Director-General Mohamed Badi said that the City Park and Muthurwa Markets had already began being upgraded by the Public Works directorate.
“The various parking spaces in the market will be upgraded to ensure that there is enough capacity for farmers to deliver their products in the markets,” Badi said.
The markets which will be upgraded include Muthurwa market, Jericho market, Wakulima market, Uhuru market, City Park market, Toi Market and two markets which are along Landhies Road, and Kayole Spine Road in Embakasi.
The upgrade will see the markets have new-look ablution blocks, modern stalls, parking areas and also link roads for improved accessibility.
“The parking spaces in the market will also be upgraded to ensure that there is enough capacity for farmers to come and deliver their products in the market,” Badi said.
Currently, Nairobi has 23 built-up markets and 20 open-air markets.
70 percent of the renovation works are being done at the City Market are complete. The construction of the market was temporarily suspended in January 2021 after the discovery of a huge cross made of concrete.
The National Museums of Kenya later on clarified that the slab was a cover for something beneath the ground.
“The National Museums of Kenya perceives that this was a washing basin like a huge washing basin which was reinforced with this structure, which looks like a cross. Later on when the market was being rehabilitated to what it is today, it was too heavy for them to remove it from the location,” the National Museums Director of Sites and Monuments, Purity Kiura, said.
In 2020, the government completed the construction of modern markets that cost Ksh1.4 billion with the aim of empowering traders.
The markets completed were Westlands market which was constructed at Ksh214 million, Starehe constituency at Ksh389 million, Karandini market at Ksh294 million and Gikomba market which was constructed at a cost of Ksh492 million.
Open-air markets provide a means of livelihood for a majority of the Kenyan population. The upgrade of the markets will enable many more Kenyans to venture into the market while also improving the working conditions of those who work in the markets.
