President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has announced plans to create more orderly and attractive environments for roadside vendors while simultaneously improving sanitation, hygiene and public services.

He made the announcement on Friday during a press briefing at the Office of the President.

According to the Head of State, issues relating to roadside vending, littering and the improper use of public roads continue to be among the main concerns raised by members of the public.

“We have launched a program identifying areas where we’re going to build out these food courts, market tarmacs, create beautiful infrastructure and move persons to those locations to address the concern,” he said.

The ministries of Public works and local government have been directed to craft a plan identifying suitable locations in major urban areas for the development of structured commercial and entertainment zones.

“We are hoping that by the end of this year we’ll have a number of those facilities.We’ll try to have one maybe in every NDC or large communities one and move all of these facilities so you can have better sanitation services, you can have better hygiene, you can have all of the other related things and then you create a hub around those activities that will benefit their businesses,” the president added.

The government is also addressing concerns about heavy duty vehicles occupying roadways.

President Ali revealed that nearly 300 acres of land are currently being developed to provide parking facilities for trucks, allowing them to be removed from public roads and relocated to dedicated spaces.