Flowers in Freedom Park. | Delta Letigio
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Flowers, native crafts, and furniture vendors in Freedom Park no longer have to worry that they will be transferred to the interim market while the new Carbon Market is being constructed.
Market Operations Head (MOD) Irvin Cabales said that only 700 stall owners from the Warwick Barracks and some portions of Freedom Park will be transferred to the interim market.
Those within the 2,000 square-meter area of the Freedom Park will remain, although Megawide Construction Corp. promised to fix their stalls as well, the same way it did for Unit III in the Bagsakan Market.
This after changes were implemented in the general plan for the new Carbon Market lay-out with the Freedom Park being revived as a park and moving the new Carbon Market building further back to Warwick Barracks.
“Bale unlike sa initial plan sa Megawide, kaning Freedom Park nga gipropose, will be diha nalang gyod na siya. Mga 2,000 square meters nga park, tawgun gihapon og Freedom Park. So ang mabalhin ra nga vendors katong gawas anang 2,000 square meters,” said Cabales.
Still, those in Warwick Barracks and some vendors of Freedom Park will be moved to the Unit II interim market by November 28, 2021.
Cabales said they will be moving at least 50 vendors per few days so that by Christmas, all vendors will already be settled in the interim market making it easier for the public to find the vendors.
The start of the construction of the new Carbon Market will also affect 1,600 ambulant vendors, but Megawide continues to build the Bagsakan Center, a long stretch of stalls in M.L. Quezon Street where ambulant vendors will be placed.
Megawide has committed to building the Bagsakan up to the VECO lot at the edge of the Carbon Market compound so that more ambulant vendors will be accommodated.
This will also allow the MOD to section the market to different goods with all wet products in Unit I and all dry products in Unit II, and others in Unit III.
Cabales said they want the transfer of vendors to the interim market to be done as soon as possible because they want to take the opportunity of the transfer to check all documents and permits of the stall vendors.
“Naa tay minor problems, sa side sa vendors kana ilang declaration sa business units. Ilang gideclare sa una ang pinakabaratog permit, daghan nideclare og sari-sari. Pero dili diay, bugas diay ilang gibaligya. So ato pud na ipang correct sa atong sectioning,’ said Cabales.
The MOD hopes to complete the transfer to the interim market before Christmas 2021. The construction of the new market will take at least two years. /rcg
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