Fruit and vegetable market in Kaskas

Street vendors will be prohibited

The Municipality of Beirut and the Syndicate of Fruit and Vegetable Retail Traders launched a project for a centralized retail market for fruits and vegetables in Kaskas, Beirut. The Municipality approved the preliminary concept design of the project and appointed a consultant to study the final drawings.

“By mid-2014, the municipality will launch a tender process to appoint the contractor that will execute the project,” said Bilal Hamad, Head of the Beirut Municipality. Construction works should be finalized within 18 months.

The fruit and vegetable market will be built on a 10,000 square meter plot owned by the municipality. It will include underground and aboveground levels including space for 353 shops, storage rooms, auditorium room, restaurants and cafés, a children’s playground, and three parking floors with a capacity of 500 cars. The total built-up area will reach 45,000 square meters. The cost of investment in the project could reach $10 million and will be entirely financed by the Beirut Municipality.

The retail market will be equipped with refrigerators, and laboratories for checking the quality of the produce on sale. Only members of the Fruit and Vegetable Retail Traders Syndicate will be able to rent stalls. Low rental fees will be set by the municipality to cover power, security, and maintenance costs.

The internal management of the retail market will be handled by the Syndicate. It will be responsible of signing contracts with traders, supervising the prices of the goods, and ensuring the quality of the products. The municipality will handle the whole market’s management.

Suhail Al-Mehby, Head of the Syndicate, said that after opening the retail market, the Ministry of Interior will issue a decision to prohibit all vendors from selling fruits and vegetable in the streets.