By Abdullahi Yusuf
Kano State Government in partnership with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Lives and Livelihood Fund (LLF) has provided infrastructure worth N628 million at the Dawanau International Grains Market, Kano, to facilitate its smooth operations.
The infrastructure include a 4-kilometer road with drainage and solar lighting, administrative block, a Mosque, a police outpost and a conference hall.
The Infrastructure Engineer of the Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project, Zahraddeen Hamisu Zarewa, disclosed this while addressing newsmen at the grains market on Monday.
Zarewa said the project was executed “to close the infrastructure gap” in the market, and that it was carried out to boost agriculture, specifically the value chain of crops and livestock.
He said Dawanau is the largest grains market in sub-Saharan Africa visited by grains merchants and buyers from all over the continent.
He said with the completion of the projects, the market now functions very well with improved security due to the installation of the solar lighting devices.
Similarly, the project engineer said, accessibility to the market had improved because of the provision of the road network.
“Trailers, trucks and other vehicles which used to encounter difficulties in getting parking spaces in the market now have them ready to park and offload their grains and other foodstuff,” he added.
In his remarks, the Deputy President of the Dawanau Market Traders Association, Alhaji Baba Wawu, commended the state government for providing infrastructure at the market.
Wawu said the gesture had improved the market’s facilities as well as its image both in the eyes of customers and the general public.