From the night market that was held in Male in 2016. PHOTO/MIHAARU
Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) on Wednesday declared that the annual Night Market will not be held this year due to a lack of cooperation from the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure.
Last week, MNCCI announced that it was making preparations for this year’s Night Market which was to be held at the newly developed Industrial Village in capital Male City. The Night Market was slated to be held in November.
However, MNCCI’s chair Ismail Asif said that even though the ministry had given them permission to host the event, it had made no follow-ups.
He said that the official appointed on behalf of the ministry to organise the event has also gone on holiday and that his replacement has no idea on the proceedings of the Night Market.
“The ministry gave permission to use the Industrial Village. But they did not give any specifications – the exact locations we’re supposed to prep, or any other details for that matter,” Asif said.
Asif said that MNCCI had on several occasions tried to contact the ministry; however it had been incredibly hard to reach.
Further, the housing ministry had wanted to make an agreement before leasing the Industrial Village, but the status of this agreement is also unknown, Asif said.
According to MNCCI, over 800 businesses had applied for stalls at the annual Night Market. Stalls were being leased for MVR 5,750.
The Night Market is aimed for small-scale businesses, and every-day items are sold at reduced prices. The market usually goes on for a week.
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