Project Description

Vegetable market located in Khost City

Project Goals

The current project proposes to build a vegetable market in Khost City, Khost Province. Agricultural trade in Khost is linked to Pakistan by three official crossing points with significant volume trade taking place between the 2 countries via the province. Khost will be soon officially announced as the third transit route between Pakistan and Afghanistan after Torkham in Jalalbad and Speen Boldak in Kandahar provinces. Khost is also located on the Asian Tran's Corridor, an ambitious project of 1970s to link Europe with South Asia. Khost City is a well developed agricultural center, and serves as a regional commercial and trade center for the region. Food committees are imported from Pakistan via Khost and than distributed to other neighboring province as for as Kabul. Also the fresh fruits and other export items of the region are exported to Pakistan through Khost. 

The proposed Market will be located some 3Km from downtown Khost with the objective to ease heavy traffic, congestion and provide both the customers and business a conducive environment in which to purchase products and operate. Currently the vegetable and fresh fruits market is located in down town Khost, is very congested and not conducive to the sellers who face significant difficulties importing and distributing their products due to narrow and muddy streets, lack of parking areas for heavy trucks and inappropriate storing space. Also, the risk of fire and other technical disasters are very high and there is no provision to safeguard business property.

The land for the market at the selected site will be provided by the government. The market will have 150 outlets (shop), sized 10m long x 5m wide x 4m high constructed out of bricks and cement concrete slabs, designed in circular so that shaped as closed compound easy to control the entrance and exit. Washroom/restroom, administrative/quality control/ revenue collection office block will also be constructed in the market. A well will be dug to provide water and a shared generator will supply power to the market. The project is high on our priority list and has been passed by the provincial development committee (PDC)

The project will be owned by Khost municipality. The outlets will be distributed and rented to current vegetable and fresh fruits dealers. The municipality will provide for water, garbage collection and other services from the revenue it earns from the market. The market will be a source of revenue from which the municipality could provide for the provision of other services in the province making the province more self reliance. The construction of the market and having all the business at one location will give the municipality to properly carry out quality control on the food stuff safeguarding consumers rights. The vegetable market is highly feasible and highly demanded by Khost trade unions that represents various trades communities in the city a and have requested the construction of new vegetable and fresh fruits market, slaughter house, vegetable/fresh fruits market on many occasions. A draft designed is already developed to suit the local conditions and culture. The municipality, in collaboration with all the stack holders, trade union, the governor office, department of environment, department of water and sanitation, urban development and department of revenue, will supervise consult and provide feedback, and opposing view points on the implementation and utilization of the project.

Results

PRT and GORoA not able to come to agreement on land usage

Updates

Dec 4 2009 Project location was changed in the spring of 2009 after a ground breaking ceremony. Discussions are currently underway with the contractor, Provincial Governor, Khost City Mayor, Director of Agriculture, and labor unions on the location and design of this project. Apr 16 2010 Location was chosen in northwest portion of Khost city, but Director of Agriculture withdrew his approval of use of that land. Working with GIRoA for solution