[PHOTOS] Kikuyu market ready for allocation - State

The Kikuyu Market located in Kiambu county is 99 per cent complete and ready for allocation, the government has said.

According to its Public Delivery Unit portal, the market is expected to accommodate over 550 hawkers.

The market, located adjacent to the Kikuyu-Nairobi bus park in Kikuyu town, will play a key role in decongesting the town's hawking business.

"The new market will bring order to Kikuyu Town while generating income for small-scale traders as they will be able to operate their businesses for longer hours despite changing weather patterns," read a statement on the portal.

The market is among 15 being upgraded by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services Improvement Project (NaMSIP) through the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development within the Nairobi Metropolitan region.

The rehabilitation project is being financed by the World Bank with the objective of providing an enabling physical space for organised markets, creating market linkages for products, fostering access to services to promote efficiency and quality of products and promoting reliable linkages with financial institutions.

"The goal is to enhance livelihoods especially for the urban poor who are operating as vendors in these select markets," reads part of the markets report.

Nairobi Metropolitan Services Improvement Project (NAMSIP) is an initiative that is in line with Nairobi Metro 2030 that was published by the Ministry of Nairobi MetropolitanDevelopment.

The report proposed the upgrade of the existing markets and the establishment of new markets within the Nairobi Metropolitan region.

Several markets were selected by the Local Authority Development Action Plan team for upgrade or establishment.

In this regard, Kikuyu Market was one of the primary markets selected for development.