More than 6 million dollars has been allocated by the government through a meeting of the Council Ministers to the second phase of construction of the Taibesi market which has seen an explosion in vendor numbers after the closure of the Hari Laran market.
Secretary of State for Public works Luis Vaz Rodrigues said the budget was insufficient for the project given the approximately 2 thousand vendors based at the market.
“There’s a few things that need to be changed as it’s insufficient; we need places to accommodate the vendors,” he said.
He said the 6 million allocated was supposed to pay not only for upgrades to the market but also for a new bus terminal to cater for east-bound bus services.
Rodrigues said the project was due to be finished before the start of the wet season.
He said almost 1300 vendors will sell their goods at the market after the upgrades are complete.
Minister for Commerce, Industry and Environment Antonio da Conceicao assured the public that the project would be complete on deadline.
He said vendors would not be taxed at this time as the appropriate laws were not in place yet.
Market manager Armando Siqueira Cardoso said the number of vendors needing sites was grossly understated.
“There are more than a thousand vendors who are on the extra list and then there are many more whose names aren’t on a list,” he said.
