Niamey Grand Market
Encyclopedia
The Niamey Grand Market is the largest market
Marketplace
A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...

 and shopping center in Niamey
Niamey
-Population:While Niamey's population has grown steadily since independence, the droughts of the early 1970s and 1980s, along with the economic crisis of the early 1980s, have propelled an exodus of rural inhabitants to Niger's largest city...

, the capital and largest city in the West African state of Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...

.

Location

The large market complex lies in the center of the city in a neighborhood named "Grand Marché" after it, east and south of the European style commercial and government center of "Plateau" neighborhood. It was built within a colonial era park which divided the "European" and "African" sections of the city, south and west of the modern Stade Général Seyni Kountché and Niamey Grande Mosquée
Grande Mosquée
The Grande Mosquée is an Islamic mosque in Niamey, Niger. The largest mosque in the city, it is located along Islam Avenue. Funded with money from Libya, the mosque features a minaret with 171 steps from top to bottom.-References:...

. The market is bordered on the west by the "Boulevard de l'Independence", which is also the north south route through the city of Route nationale 1
Route nationale 1 (Niger)
The Route nationale no. 1 is an important highway in the African country of Niger. It connects the east part of the country to the west. RN1 runs approximately from Niamey in the west to N'Guigmi in the east, via Dosso, Maradi, Zinder, and Diffa. The first large paved section, between Gouré and...

.

Infrastructure

A uniform structure for it was first built in 1950, and is locally known as the Habou-Béné. A fire on 30 March 1982 destroyed the market, and it was reopened on 5 January 1987, in a project which cost some 5 Billion CFA Franc
CFA franc
The CFA franc is the name of two currencies used in Africa which are guaranteed by the French treasury. The two CFA franc currencies are the West African CFA franc and the Central African CFA franc...

s. That incarnation housed 4000 shops, ranging from simple stalls and covered tables to the 1863 permanent structures which range from metal stalls to modern stores in two large buildings. In May 2009, another fire gutted portions of the market, destroying around 1500 stalls and stands, 128 of which were housed in metal stalls, and the rest in the open or in less permanent structures. The fire was believed to have begun in the area reserved for food stalls. Fire officials suspected an electrical cable short sparked the fire, which began at around 14:00 and was only controlled some four hours later.

The market complex is operated by a national government body, SOCOGEM ("Société de construction et de gestion des marchés", "Society for the Construction and Operation of Markets")

Importance

The Niamey Grand Market has been called the commercial center of the entire county, as goods from across the nation and abroad pass though the center and are sold both wholesale and retail. The market, and especially its traditional craft center is an important tourist attraction, drawing an estimated 20,000 tourists a year. A large bus and taxi station lies just behind it.

External links

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