Mawaleh market gets face lift

As part of its renovation, more facilities have been added at the Central Fruits and Vegetables Market at Mawaleh by Muscat Municipality. The renovation is part of the municipality’ efforts to develop the country’s premier market to one of the best in the region and satisfy the needs of the market’s supply, sales, distribution and import of fruits and vegetables. In a statement on Wednesday, the municipality said that the integrated market has several facilities to make trading a hassle-free affair. “A new entrance, additional parking space, internal roads, cooling شsystem in customs inspection area, a yard for loading goods for (wholesalers), creating special corridors for forklifts, drainage system to solve rain water problems and 42 new toilets are some of the new facilities at the market,” the municipality said in a statement. The Central Market Department at the municipality urged companies and traders do direct business with the countries of origin while importing goods. “While ensuring enough supply of the fruits and vegetables, prices should also be acceptable and affordable,” it said. The municipality has also facilitated establishment of other commercial services like a bank, food stores, as well as a number of cafes and restaurants to complement the market activity. The entry gate 2 is currently being developed with two lanes to ensure the flow of vehicles entering the market. The total market area is 185,245 sqm and it consists of the main canopy that has an area of 5,600 sqm, in addition to a large number of rooms to cool agricultural products. There is a provision to market Omani agricultural products and crops. The second section is dedicated to receiving agricultural products imported from countries of origin. More than 300 companies operate in the market with various varieties of fruits and vegetables imported from many countries that meet the needs of consumers. The municipality has opened the way for investors to establish some commercial service projects that complement the market activities such as a bank branch, food stores, cafes, and restaurants. The municipality set an ambitious target for the market to play an influential role at the local and regional levels, the most prominent of which is the direct import of vegetables and fruits from the import from the country of origin. There has been a continuous increase in direct import year after year, and this of course gave an indication of the extent of market growth and its attraction to many direct exporters of vegetables and fruits to the market, and in return led to a reduction in indirect import since the operation of the market. The market played a vital role in marketing the local product internally, in addition to opening an outlet to market the product externally, as market merchants from neighbouring countries refill their empty trucks with Omani products during the return trip to their countries. In response to the merchant’s desire to clear product-related procedures in one place, an integrated building has been installed in the market that houses the central market management of vegetables and fruits and other government agencies, such as the office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.