MUSCAT : Muscat Municipality and Khazaen Economic City signed an agreement to transfer activities of wholesale of vegetables and fruits from the Central Market in Al Mawaleh to Khazaen. 

The step comes as part of efforts to regulate and develop wholesale operations and cut down the volume of trucks entering Muscat Governorate. The current market at Al Mawaleh is expected to serve as a retail outlet.

The agreement was signed by Eng. Isam Saud al-Zedjali, Chairman of Muscat Municipality, and Eng. Salim Sulaiman al-Dhuhli, CEO of Khazaen.

Eng. Isam al-Zedjali pointed out that the agreement is part and parcel of plans to improve urban planning in Muscat Governorate, namely by utilizing Al Mawaleh market’s site and other municipal establishments and service facilities in a more ideal manner. Khazaen Vegetable and Fruit Market will be a basic component of the Food City project, he added.

With emphasis on a vision to promote public interest, the facility will constitute an added-value to the municipality’s investments, including usufruct contracts, said Eng. Isam, noting that Khazaen, being a major logistics hub in the Sultanate, will contribute to ameliorating the quality of performance of the vegetable and fruit sector.

Meanwhile, Eng. Salim al-Dhuhli said that the agreement provides for the transfer of Al Mawaleh wholesale market’s components to Khazaen. The new facility will be set up at a cost of RO 43 million and occupy an area of 800,000 sq metres, triple the size of the existing wholesale market at Al Mawaleh.

Eng. Salim added that an area of 250,000 sq metres will be dedicated as truck parking. The market, which has options for future expansion, will be in the vicinity of ports of A’Suwaiq and Sohar, in addition to Khazaen land port, and it will form the core of an integrate food industries’ city.