Stall owners at the old Al Hamriya Vegetable Market have been told to pack up and leave before January 2 next year. Demolition work at the site will start the same day.
The development comes as Dubai Municipality gears up to open the new, Dh152-million Dubai Central Fruit and Vegetable Market in Al Awir on the Emirates Road, also on January 2.
The old Al Hamriya market was first opened to the public in 1979 and currently employs over 1,500 workers. The municipality has ambitious plans for the area after the market is demolished.
No electricity or water will be available in the old market from January 2, according to Obeid Salim Al Shamsi, Assistant Director General of Dubai Municipality for Administrative Affairs and General Services.
He said the new market is designed to meet the requirements of the emirate's fruit and vegetables trade until 2012. "The move reflects the Municipality's commitment to provide the best services to the public as well as traders."
He added that the municipality is putting the final touches to the new central wholesale market and it is expected to be ready on November 15.
All the shops, stalls, offices, buildings and other facilities in the area are ready. The only unfinished parts of the new market are a two-storey building and additional wholesale shops.
The municipality completed the construction of accommodation facilities for more than 2,000 workers at a cost of Dh15 million in August. It caters for people employed by market traders, as well as Dubai Municipality labourers and truck drivers.
The four three-storey buildings will have 70 rooms, each accommodating up to eight people. There will be additional facilities, such as common kitchens, dining halls and bathrooms.
There will also be a 100-room motel for truck drivers, a cafeteria, residential quarters for those working in the market, a mosque, car services and petrol stations, garbage collection areas, a police station, a civil defence unit, a post office, a bank, a supermarket, a pharmacy and restaurants.
The municipality is in the final stages of landscaping, installing signposts and other extras.Meanwhile it is about to complete the construction of the mosque, which will accommodate to 1,000 people and will be ready on December 18.
In addition to that, the municipality is also finalising the construction of buildings to be occupied by the owners as well as stores, offices and shops, built at a cost of Dh15 million.
The construction of the Enoc petrol station started on September 15, while a Dubai Civil Defence station is ready and will soon be occupied by officers. The Dubai Co-operative Union has already taken shape.
The second phase of the labour accommodation facilities will be ready in April next year. The Dh17-million camp will accommodate up to 2,500 workers and will be similar to the camp in the first phase.
The final stages of a Dh2.6-million sewage network will be completed on November 17.
The new market will also include an administrative section. The wholesale market will comprise of seven blocks consisting of 284 outlets.
Each shop in the wholesale market is provided with two parking lots for loading the goods on one side and two parking lots for unloading imported goods on the other side. Centralised refrigerators and warehouses will also be set up in this section.
In the area specified for selling through trucks, there will be an area for the trucks to wait in a queue before entering the direct trading zone. This section will include a zone for buyers and retail traders.
The new market is conveniently located on Emirates Road, which links Dubai with Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates.
Moving the old market to the new location is expected to help reduce traffic congestion in the Al Hamriya area, officials said.
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