President Yoweri Museveni has on Sunday commissioned the ultra-modern Soroti Main Market in Soroti City, while on his campaign trail in Teso sub-region.
The Market shall accommodate over 2,000 vendors, most of whom are women and small-scale business operators.
“I have commissioned the Soroti Main Market. This new market has 1,390 facilities, including stalls and retail stores, and is expected to create about 3,000 jobs for residents of Soroti, along the local trade and supply chain,†said president Museveni on his social media platforms.
According to the Minister for Local Government, Raphael Magyezi, the Market has got 1,396 facilities including 532 lockers, 433 stalls, 431 pitches.
He said It also has two giant underground water tanks for rain-harvesting with capacity of 500,000 litres.
Magyezi added that the market will be dedicated to vendors who are full-time engaged in working in the market but not the absentee landlords who want to get stalls and hire them out.
The facility is constructed using a loan facility from the African Development Bank worth Shs23.4billion.
The market will have lockups, CCTV cameras linked to the Soroti Central Police Station, 500,000 litre water tank, butchers, chicken cages, cold rooms and service centres: tailoring, pharmacies, financial institutions and small-scale value addition units.
The new modern market will also have prayer rooms, restaurants, day-care facilities, meeting rooms, and a Police Post.
The facility was constructed by Techno Three Uganda Limited in a joint venture with PS Constructions.