KOCHI: After a long five-year wait, the modern market complex at Kaloor is set to be fully opened for commerce by mid-May.
The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) will initiate the tendering process and award the shops by the first week of May. As many as 12 shops will be reserved for women traders.
“Commercial activities will get going at full scale by the middle of next month. The 40,000-sq ft two-storey building located near Manapattiparambu has been renovated in collaboration with the Cochin Smart Mission Ltd (CSML) for Rs 5.87 crore,” GCDA chairman K Chandran Pillai told TNIE.
Though the building was constructed years ago, commercial activities were limited as allied facilities had not been set up.
Of the total 82 shops, 15 will be allotted to those who conducted trade there before the renovation works began. Twenty-seven shops will be utilised to rehabilitate the traders of the old market, currently functioning near Deshabhimani Junction.
“The old market functioning near Deshabhimani Market will be closed down. The private market was functioning without meeting several norms, including that of the pollution control board. The Kochi corporation didn’t heed to our earlier request to shut it down, but have now agreed to do so. The traders there will be redeployed at the new Kaloor market for which 27 shop rooms will be utilised,” Pillai said.
The GCDA will tender the remaining 40 shops, the 2,000-sq ft restaurant area on the first floor and the 1,000-sq ft supermarket area.
Separate spaces have been earmarked for meat, fish, fruits/vegetables, and ancillary products/groceries. An area of 6,000 sq ft has been readied for each section. In the meat section, stalls selling chicken, mutton, beef, and pork will be set up. There will be 13 shops in the veg section, 14 in the meat section, and nine shops selling fish. There will be a lift facility.
One person will be allotted one shop only. “As many as 12 shops will be reserved for women traders, two for transgenders, two for persons with disabilities, four for those belonging to SC and two from ST,” Pillai said.
The GCDA has also readied parking space for nearly 60 cars in front of the market complex. Entry to the market is possible from Banerji Road, Kaloor metro station, Manapattiparambu and Sastha Temple Road.
The GCDA is setting up facilities to process waste at the source itself, including an effluent treatment plant with a capacity of 50 kilolitre per day, and a solid waste processing system for processing vegetable/fruit, fish and meat waste. Until the plant becomes operational, the waste is intended to be taken to the Brahmapuram plant.
Modern technologies are being used in its construction and operations to avoid troubling nearby residents and consumers, Pillai added.