Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex

File:Koyambedu Market A View.jpg

A view of the Koyambedu Market

Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex (KWMC) is one of Asia's largest perishable goods market complex located at Koyambedu, Chennai. The market complex is spread over an area of 295 acres (1.19 km²). Inaugurated in 1996, the complex consists of more than 1,000 wholesale shops and 2,000 retail shops. It abuts Poonamalee High Road and Nesapakkam Road. In Phase I, a wholesale market for perishables was developed in an area of around 70 acres (280,000 m²) by constructing 3,194 shops. The market has two blocks for vegetable shops and one each for fruit and flower shops. In Phase II, a textile market and in Phase III, a food grain market have been planned to be developed in the complex.

The food grain market will be built on a seven to eight acres of land belonging to the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, adjacent to the Koyambedu fire service station and opposite the vegetable market, and will have about 500 shops.

Developments

The Basic Infrastructure and Amenities Promotion Committee has approved an allocation of ₹ 336.3 million for augmentation and maintenance of the infrastructure, including stormwater drain network, in the market complex. The Market Management Committee will carry out the work which includes creation of new stormwater drains over 9 km long, widening of roads and concretisation of a 350-m road connecting Gates 7 and 14, which is being used by heavy vehicles to carry perishables to the market complex. The market has over 100,000 visitors daily. On an average, 1,500 lorries and other heavy vehicles come to the market every day, bringing in vegetables, fruits and flowers.

In 2012, the market was declared a green complex. As part of this, about 1,000 trees were planted on the market premises. The complex will also feature a landscape with a compound wall at a cost of ₹ 25 million, rainwater harvesting structures and solar lighting.

Foodgrains market

An exclusive foodgrains market, the first such facility in the state, is under construction at the market complex at a cost of ₹ 690.7 million. It is being constructed in an area of 14.41 acres next to the existing wholesale vegetable market, with provision of godowns, parking space for trucks, public toilets, cement concrete roads, solar street lights, fire-fighting system, and water supply. It is expected to be opened by mid-2014. It will have about 500 shops for wholesale business of food grains, except sugar, jaggery, dry chillies, tamarind, and edible oil items.

Bio-methanation plant

A bio-methanation plant at the market complex set by Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority was inaugurated in 2006 at a cost of ₹ 55 million to generate power from vegetable and fruit waste collected from the wholesale market. The Biomethanation plant has a capacity to produce 2500 unit per day with 30 Tons of Waste. The plant was operated by the Koyambedu Market Management Committee till 2008 and was put to disuse owing to machine repair. The plant was operational again from April 2011 but only for four months and is awaiting Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation's (TANGEDCO) approval to supply electricity to the grid. The plant has the capacity to convert 30 tonnes of waste per day into 2,500 units daily. Of the nearly 150 tonnes of vegetable and fruit waste generated daily at the market, about 30 tonnes are segregated. A total of 1.75 acre has been allotted for composting 50 tonnes of waste. There are also plants to recycle banana stems.

Parking

The market complex has a 7.46-acre open-space parking lot adjacent to the biomethanation plant, opened by the CMDA, on 5 April 2013. It has a provision to park 400 vehicles at any given point in time.