Construction works on the second phase of the Kumasi Central Market Redevelopment project are expected to resume in October 2026.

Kumasi Mayor, Richard Ofori Agyeman Boadi, revealed this during a stakeholder engagement meeting between traders and the Minister responsible for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs in Kumasi.

Speaking at the meeting, the mayor noted that government has managed to negotiate with contractors and consultants on the project to resume works in the coming weeks, with funding secured for its subsequent completion.

“We are in absolute terms convinced that this October, the redevelopment of phase two of Kejetia is beginning,” he announced.

He continued that: “We say so because of the kinds of engagement we have done with the consultant and contractor of this project”.

He noted that the ideal plan for the continuation and sustenance of the project was to generate revenue from each of the phases to successively complete the three-phased project.

Mr Agyeman Boadi says 89 million cedis have so far been collected by the assembly from Phase One since the commissioning of the market in 2018.

The second phase of the market project has for years now stalled, with traders and other market stakeholders venting their displeasure over its abandonment and the dilemma many of them faced.

The Phase II project is a planned redevelopment of Kumasi Central Market, intended to add substantial modern trading and support facilities to the existing Kejetia complex.

The facility will house over 3,760 countershops, a transport terminal for 600 vehicles, and over 6,000 lockable shops.

The contract for the 248-million-euro project was originally signed in December 2018 and expected to be completed in 48 months.

Consultant for the project, Tony Yeboah of Avangarde Design Services, noted that the project is currently at 68 per cent overall project work, with 84 per cent of procurement made, engineering works 99 per cent completed, and 49 per cent of construction works done.

He further revealed that only 171 million euros of the funds have thus far been paid following the commencement.

However, the city mayor, Mr Agyemang Boadi, assured of the government’s commitment to seeing the completion of phases two and three of the market project.

“This project is one that is dear to the heart of the President and government. It is one project we have given all our energies to,” he said.

He further debunked speculations that distribution of stalls at the yet-to-be completed market project has commenced, warning traders not to pay any money to individuals or entities purporting to be taking the market premiums on behalf of the assembly.

Meanwhile, traders and the people of Kumasi are eagerly awaiting the early completion of the market project to ease congestion at the regional capital’s major trading centre.