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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Busega Market being constructed in Lubaga division is 99 % complete and Arab Contractors are soon expected to hand over the project.
Ben Kumumanya, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government says the contractor has only one percent works remaining to complete the project.
The remaining works include construction of cooking stoves for the kitchen, the cold room, installation of a solar system and constructing the drainage system for the rooftop parking.
The project is funded under the Markets and Agricultural Trade Improvement Programme (MATIP) implemented by the Government of Uganda with financial support from the Arab Bank of Economic Development in Africa (BADEA).
BADEA financed the first phase of the construction works of the facility at US$ 5.42M ( approximately 19 Billion Shillings) while the Government of Uganda bankrolled the second phase at a tune of US$ 6.8M (approximately 23.8 Billion Shillings).
The market has shops, stalls, open spaces, toilets and a parking in addition to ramps for easy access by People with Disabilities (PWDs). It has the capacity to house at least 2,000 traders at a time.
In December 2021, Kampala Capital City Authority – KCCA planned to open the Market at the same time they planned to open Kasubi market. However, the Ministry of Local government didn’t handover the market saying there were pending works.
Henry Bukenya, the KCCA manager for Commercial Services says that local government Ministry has been changing handover dates to enable the contractor complete pending works. He hopes that the market shall be handed over to KCCA by the end of this month if February.
Upon opening, priority shall be given to vendors in the current Busega market some of whom operate from the roadside having failed to find space in the market. “The vendors have been registered and shall be allocated space before new entrants are admitted to the market when it opens. There are over 1500 vendors already registered,” says Bukenya.
The market Chairperson Salongo Bugembe says if the market is opened, it will save vendors from operating on the roadsides where they are exposed to accidents and effects of weather.
Bugembe however asked government to plan on expanding the fish vending section because the number of vendors has increased from 50 when the plan was made more than 10 years ago to over 200 fish traders. He also wants government to construct feeder roads leading to the market and create proper access from the Northern Bypass to the market.
Bugembe has further asked government to reserve the rooftop parking for vendors and expand the lower parking for customers. He wants neighboring homes to be compensated and made to leave land for expansion of the market.
Busega Market is seen as one of the markets that could accommodate some vendors being chased from the streets of Kampala. Last month, KCCA intensified operations to get street vendors off the streets under its Smart City campaign intended to decongest the city and maintain order.
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