Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has launched construction of a new market in Ggaba, Makindye Division, as the city expands formal trading spaces and implements plans to provide more organised places for businesses across Kampala.

The Ggaba market is being developed under the US$162.64 million Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area Urban Development Programme (GKMA-UDP), with funding from the World Bank and the French Development Agency (AFD). Construction is expected to take two years, according to KCCA.

The project is the first of the planned market developments in Makindye Division and is part of efforts to increase designated trading spaces as KCCA continues enforcing the Trade Order and addressing street vending in the city.

KCCA Executive Director Sharifah Buzeki said the new facility would give traders a designated place to conduct business legally. She said traders who were relocated and registered during enforcement of the Trade Order would be given priority when spaces in the new market are allocated.

The development also follows a presidential directive requiring each Kampala division to have at least two markets. According to Buzeki, the initiative is intended to expand opportunities for trade while creating organised commercial spaces that can support livelihoods and wealth creation.

The planned Ggaba market will include 743 stalls, 173 lock-ups, 47 pitches, 60 shops and 168 restaurant spaces, alongside storage facilities for traders.

The market has been designed with Ggaba's importance as a major fish trading centre in mind. Its facilities will include furnished cold rooms for fish storage and a water treatment plant for fish-related activities, with the aim of improving hygiene and business operations.

The facility will also have offices, a conference hall, toilets and bathrooms, a standby generator and parking space. A day-care centre is planned to support traders with young children, particularly mothers who need childcare while running their businesses.

Young people will also be able to access free skills training at a business hub planned on the top floor of the market. The training is intended to help them develop businesses and explore alternative sources of income.

KCCA's earlier procurement documents for the project also show that the market design includes dedicated facilities associated with fish trading, cold storage, food businesses, storage and other commercial activities.

State Minister for Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs Kabuye Kyofatogabye said the market would be developed for traders to use, while ownership of the facility would remain with KCCA. He encouraged traders to embrace designated trading spaces as enforcement of the Trade Order continues.

“We want all market spaces to be used for trade and we want trade to take place in legal spaces,” Kyofatogabye said.

Kampala Lord Mayor Ronald Balimwezo called on the contractor to deliver quality work and complete the project within the agreed two-year period. He also urged traders to maintain cleanliness around the market, particularly because of Ggaba's location on the shores of Lake Victoria.

City leaders warned that pollution of the lake could affect fish trading and the livelihoods of people who depend on the lake and its related economic activities.

The Ggaba market is part of the broader GKMA-UDP, which is supporting urban infrastructure improvements across the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area, including road reconstruction, drainage works and market redevelopment. KCCA's procurement notice confirms that funds under the programme have been allocated specifically for construction of the Ggaba market in Makindye Division.

The new market is therefore expected to become an important formal trading centre in Ggaba while supporting KCCA's wider efforts to provide organised commercial spaces for traders and reduce reliance on informal street trading.