The relocation of the Nam Yue wholesale market to Ilha Verde – to occupy a space twice the size of the old premises – will be completed next month.
The government previously said the relocation would be complete in 2016 and that it would cost MOP860 million.
With capacity for approximately 235 stalls, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) president,
Jose Tavares, said that the market will open next month, with the relocation of vendors progressing on schedule.
“I hope that by the end of September, we will have completed the relocation. Of course the Chamber of Commerce and wholesale supplier Nam Yue have agreed on [a] day to carry out the major relocation works,” Tavares told the press.
According to a TDM report, the Patane market – another old wholesale market in Ilha Verde – will be handed over to the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau at the end of October.
Tavares added that the IACM had previously agreed to pay the market’s live poultry traders MOP14 million to help them shift their businesses to the new premises, but many traders have yet to submit the documentation required. As such, said Tavares, the progress of financial compensation has been slow.
However, Tavares expressed his satisfaction over the 40 live poultry traders who have applied for permits to sell frozen poultry.
Construction of the building for the new Patane market is expected to finish by the end of this month, with the market scheduled to commence operations in late 2017.
Separately, Tavares also defended IACM from local activist Jason Chao’s criticism of the bureau’s implementation of a new, mandatory form for the notification of assemblies and protests.
The activist claimed in a statement last week that the new requirement for organizing assemblies and protests threatens the right to freedom of assembly as enshrined in the Basic Law and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
However, the official argued that the move was to respond to applicants more quickly, and denied Chao’s claim that the bureau is trying to suppress freedom of assembly.
“In the past, the applicant would submit a bespoke written [document …], but our colleagues have had trouble over the years, so we’re providing a form for them to fill [in], standardize things a bit, and respond more quickly to their applications,” Tavares explained.
