Juapong to get category four 24-hour market under Mahama’s development agenda
Juapong in the Volta Region is set to receive a Category Four 24-Hour Economy Model Market after President John Dramani Mahama cut the sod for the project as part of government’s nationwide market infrastructure programme.
Speaking at the ceremony as part of #ResettingGhanaTour, President Mahama described the project as a major investment aimed at transforming Juapong into a modern commercial and industrial hub while creating jobs and expanding opportunities for farmers, traders and small businesses.
Although Juapong is not a metropolitan assembly, the President announced that it had been selected to receive one of the largest categories of the model markets under the initiative.
“The metropolitan assemblies receive Category Four markets because of their population and size. But I am happy to announce that Juapong, even though it is not a metropolitan assembly, is getting a Category Four market,” he said.
President Mahama explained that the facility would serve as more than a traditional marketplace, functioning as a modern enterprise centre with infrastructure to support production, processing, storage, packaging and distribution.
The market will feature 100 lockable stores, 150 market stalls, 10 warehouses, a police post, fire station, clinic, pharmacy, Women’s Development Bank branch, daycare centre, cold storage facility, supermarket, food courts, guest rooms, livestock holding area, offices for market management and modern sanitation facilities.
He said the project would improve access to organised markets for farmers, reduce post-harvest losses and create better trading conditions while supporting agro-processing and local value addition.
The President noted that the market forms part of government’s flagship programme to construct 24-Hour Economy Model Markets in all 261 districts across the country, with all 18 districts in the Volta Region expected to benefit.
He said the initiative was designed to strengthen local economies by improving infrastructure, encouraging investment and supporting businesses to operate more efficiently under the government’s 24-Hour Economy policy.
According to President Mahama, the success of the policy would be measured by the number of businesses that expand, the jobs created, higher incomes earned by farmers and the competitiveness of Ghanaian products in regional and international markets.
He urged residents of Juapong to take advantage of the opportunities the new market would create, expressing confidence that the facility would become a catalyst for economic growth and enterprise development in the Volta Region.
