MARKETS are facing a growing space crisis despite millions of dollars being invested in new facilities and upgrades, with Government now considering two and three-storey markets to cope with rising vendor numbers.
Minister for Housing and Local Government Maciu Nalumisa told Parliament the shortage was particularly serious among casual rural women vendors, with numbers increasing on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
“Major challenge is casual rural women vendors,” he said.
“We do not have enough stalls, especially in Suva.”
He said Government was considering multi-storey markets as one way of addressing the shortage.
“We are looking at the two-storey or three-storey markets.”
The disclosure comes despite the Markets for Change program supporting major infrastructure improvements across the country, including new markets in Levuka, Namaka, Nausori and Rakiraki, with projects costing about $7million.
The program has also provided vendor accommodation in several centres to support rural women travelling to markets.
However, Mr Nalumisa said the use of the accommodation remained a concern.
“Accommodation take-up is not satisfactory,” he said, noting that some vendors returned home while others used the facilities for storage.
He said Government needed to improve awareness and education while addressing the shortage of market space.
