It has been reliably confirmed that renovations and rehabilitation of the Makhan Singh Market in Mbarara will commence in January 2025.
This will see the biggest market in the the western city of Uganda relocated to Kakiika Market for the time being.
This refurbishment is set to cost a whooping Shs 40 billion and will be funded by the landlords in this market. Each landlord is expected to contribute Shs 7m annually.
Additionally, the relocation of the market is being led by the Mbarara Makhan Singh Market Landlords Association (MMSMLA) who are also behind the renovation.
The main objective of the redevelopment of this iconic market will be to modernize the regional economic and trade hub. Additionally, it will help to address long-standing challenges faced by the market operators such as poor infrastructure, limited accessibility among other problems.
These have hindered business in Mbarara and the suburbs that are rapidly growing economically and socially.
Speaking about the state of the market a couple of days ago, Abaasi Rugundana, chairman of the tenants said that “Our market has no way through. Many people don’t know the road to the market. There is no parking for those with vehicles. This ruins the business.”
Rugunda further stated that the publicizing of plans to renovate the structures had also become a problem for them. This is because customers had stopped visiting the market thinking that it might have shifted since the plans have been ongoing for so long.
They are however glad that these plans are now fully coming to fruition. Thomas Mukundane, chairman of MMSMLA also revealed a while ago that plans of having the traders shift to Kakiika have already commenced and by January, rebuilding the Makhan Singh Market will start without any hindrance.
