The government is building three central markets in different areas of the country — Al Wakra, Umm Salal and Al Sailiyah — to cater to a rising population.

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce has signed a contract with state-owned Manateq (Economic Zones Company) to build these markets.

Manateq has, in turn, awarded contracts to three different companies to do the projects, a press statement issued by the ministry said yesterday. The markets are expected to be ready for operation by the middle of 2016. Each of the three market complexes will have a main market (selling fresh vegetables and fruits), a slaughter house, and markets selling meat, fish, chicken and other poultry products.

The three markets will have a bank branch each, a florist shop, a grocery store and a warehouse, besides boasting a cold storage and administrative blocks and labour camps each. Al Wakra Market will be the largest, nearly three times bigger than the other two, with an area covering 59,393 sqm.

All the three markets will have sufficient car parking space, a mosque and an electricity substation each.

The other two markets, in Umm Salal and Al Sailiyah, will cover 20,000 sqm of area each and will have all the submarkets and amenities described above. Senior economy ministry and Manateq officials present at the signing ceremony said the location of the three markets have been chosen after careful studies. The markets will be catering to the rising population in the north, south and west of Doha, said the officials.

The agreement was signed by Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, Yahya bin Saeed Al Nuaimi, and the CEO of Manateq, Fahad Rashid Al Kaabi.

Present were the owners and officials of the contracting companies that have been awarded the projects.

They said the projects will be completed in time.

The ministry statement said that the three markets, once they begin operating, will take the pressure off the existing central markets in Doha.

The present central markets are separately for meat and livestock (which has slaughter houses), fresh vegetables and fruits, for wholesale trade of consumer items like foodstuff, among other things, and for fish.

The ministry statement suggests that the existing central markets will not be disbanded and continue to operate after the new central market complexes are built and commissioned.

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