Ministry plans renovations to enhance safety and functionality at Jidhafs Market

TDT | Manama

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Work on Jidhafs Market will start in the coming months, with the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture expecting the site to be ready in the first months of 2027, the Undersecretary for Municipal Affairs, His Excellency Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, told Parliament.

H.E. Shaikh Ahmed said the ministry has already regularised the legal status of about 90 per cent of shops and activities in the market, including vegetable, meat and fish sellers, along with other trades.

He said work is ongoing with those still outside the process to sort out their status.

Needs

The Undersecretary said the market needs a full upgrade to meet today’s needs, and that the ministry will carry out wide-ranging maintenance during this year.

The plan covers repairs inside and out, electrical work and upgrades to infrastructure, aimed at improving conditions across the site.

Addressing claims that some vendors and stalls were being removed, H.E. Shaikh Ahmed said the steps taken were not permanent removals but site organisation linked to safety and environmental rules.

He said the market sits on a busy road and needed better control of movement to protect shoppers and nearby residents.

The Undersecretary said the ministry wants current stallholders and tradespeople involved, and asked them to stick to the rules and requirements needed to run their businesses.

Partners

He said they are partners in the market’s upgrade.

H.E. Shaikh Ahmed said the ministry has faced challenges in arranging walkways and managing entry and exit routes, but has put practical solutions in place to ease access for residents and shop owners and improve the area around the market.

He said the market would return in a new look, and repeated that work unfinished now would be completed in the coming period.