Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon said yesterday that the government expects the renovation of the heritage-listed Red Market to get off the ground early next year.
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.
Cheong made the remarks while speaking to reporters after attending a closed-door committee meeting in the Legislative Assembly (AL).
Cheong said that once the renovation of the Red Market gets off the ground, the stalls will be temporarily moved to the Provisional Patane Market building – which has not been in use since March 2018 when the nearby Patane Market Municipal Complex came into service.
Cheong said that the government has been discussing the matter with the current Red Market stall owners, while carrying out improvement work to the facilities in the Provisional Patane Market building, with the aim of ensuring that the stall owners can move there smoothly.
Cheong noted that the Red Market is an important facility for the neighbourhood’s residents to buy fresh food, because of which the government has to ensure that the temporary relocation of the stalls to the Provisional Patane Market building will be carried out smoothly, with the aim of minimising any possible adverse impact of the relocation on residents and the stall owners. Consequently, Cheong said, the government has postponed the initial schedule for the renovation of the Red Market.
Cheong underlined that as there is no suitable location in the neighbourhood for the Red Market stalls to temporarily move to during the renovation, the government only has the choice of the Provisional Patane Market building, which Cheong admitted is “far away” from the Red Market.
Cheong said that while the government is aware that the temporary relocation of the Red Market stalls would adversely impact their owners due to the Provisional Patane Market building’s long distance from the Red Market, there was a need to carry out major repairs to the Red Market and to consolidate its structure.
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.
Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon speaks to reporters in the Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday. Photo: GCS
