LUCENA CITY—Residents here will have a new public market a year from now, in the same site, where the old one accidentally burned down in May 2014, in Barangay 6.
Mayor Roderick “Dondon” Alcala, along with Vice Mayor Philip Castillo and Sangguniang Panglunsod members, led the groundbreaking on Monday to signal the start of the construction of the new two-story public market.
“The construction of the new public market would, perhaps, now silence loose talks and speculations that the old one was intentionally burned down to pave the way for the construction of the parking area for SM SaveMore supermall,” Alcala said in his speech before the laying down of the time capsule at the brief program attended by yellow-clad barangay officials and various city government employees.
The old public market, which was three decades old, has been razed to the ground on May 28 last year in the midst of the celebrations of the city’s Pasayahan festival.
SM Savemore was constructed a few meters away from the old public market and opened to the public also last year before the market was razed to the ground.
Over 300 market stallholders were adversely affected by the loss of the old public market. They are now temporarily selling their products in side streets a few meters from the site.
Alcala assured the stallholders that they will be given priority in the distribution of business space and locations at the new public market.
The new P98-million public market building, which has a 2,500 square meter floor area, is designed to have a parking area for vehicles at the first floor and is to be built by Etrobal Builders, a local building contractor.
Last month a groundbreaking for the construction of a new four-story city-hall building has also been held at Barangay Kanlurang Mayao. Both are touted as big-ticket dream projects of the young first-term mayor.