Fruit, vegetable market upgrade urged

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has urged the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to introduce business-friendly reforms by rationalising extra storey charges for commercial buildings and accelerating infrastructure upgrades at Islamabad's fruit and vegetable market.

Speaking to trade delegations on Saturday, Acting President ICCI Tahir Ayub welcomed CDA's decision to grant principal approval for constructing an additional storey on commercial structures, calling it a step toward easing the shortage of business space.

However, he said the current per-square-foot rate was financially unviable for many traders, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and called for revising it to encourage wider participation.

Highlighting the increasing trade volume at the fruit and vegetable market, he urged CDA to develop modern auction areas, both open and covered, and create dedicated platforms for heavy vehicles and containers to ease congestion and improve logistics.

He also proposed including adjacent vacant land within the market's boundary to expand capacity, along with launching a comprehensive anti-encroachment drive to reclaim occupied areas for legitimate business use.