The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) has announced that the renovation of the heritage-listed Red Market will get off the ground in May.
The Red Market will close on March 28 for the renovation project, and 127 stalls will be temporarily moved to the Provisional Patane Market building the next day – which has not been in use since March 2018 when the nearby Patane Market Municipal Complex came into service.
The bureau made the announcement in two statements on Friday.
According to the statements, the renovation project is expected to take 657 days.
The Red Market, officially known as Almirante Lacerda Municipal Market, is located on the corner of Avenida de Horta e Costa and Avenida do Almirante Lacerda.
The Red Market, which opened in 1936, was listed as a heritage site under the category of “buildings of architectural interest” in the 1990s. It is the only wet market building in Macau listed as a cultural heritage site.
The IAM statements underlined that major renovation of the Red Market building is needed due to its ageing structure and facilities.
In addition to major repairs, the renovation project will also include the installation of various new facilities so as to make it more comfortable for stall owners and staff to work and for residents to shop.
The statements said that the renovation project will be a “difficult” one as the government will have to strike the right balance between the protection of the building’s architectural elements as a heritage site and ensuring that its structure will be well consolidated.
This undated handout photo provided by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) on Friday shows the heritage-listed Red Market.
