ILOILO City – To provide comfort to vendors and customers, as well as adequate parking spaces, a P100-million public market will be constructed in Barangay Poblacion, Ajuy, Iloilo.
The two-story new public market will be funded through the local government’s supplemental budget approved by the Sangguniang Bayan, according to Mayor Jett Rojas during the ground-breaking ceremony on Friday, June 9.
“Nag-save gid kami para sa bag-o nga public market para sa convenience sang mga naga paninda kay ang daan ta nga market gutok na gid kag daan na ang building,” Rojas told Panay News.
The public market will also include an outdoor area with stalls for street food vendors.
Rojas also said that the half-hectare occupied by the old market will be demolished.
The construction is expected to start this month through A.D. Pendon Instruction and Supply Incorporated.
“In the meantime, ang mga vendors i-plastar sa higad sang dalan para maka baligya. Pwede naton sila butangan sang kayang-kayang para indi man sila mainitan hasta matapos ang construction,” Rojas added.
The mayor said this project is one of the town’s biggest this year and is expected to be completed in a year.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., who spearheaded the ground-breaking ceremony, vowed to help with the budget.
“Ipa-estimate ko kun pila ang budget sa wet market area kay mabulig ang province para maging manami ang merkado sang Ajuy nga madugay na,” Defensor said.
Meanwhile, Defensor and Rojas spearheaded the inauguration of P1.4 million worth of two classrooms donated by Smart Tech Co., Ltd., Japan, through the Organization for Industrial, Spiritual, and Cultural Advancement (OISCA) International.
According to Katsumi Kodera, president of Smart Tech, they chose to donate two classrooms at Beatriz D. Tupas Memorial Elementary School in Barangay Bay-ang Ajuy because it needed more rooms for the students.
“This is our first project here in Western Visayas, Iloilo in particular, with the help of Yukihiro Ishibashi of OISCA International,” Kodera said./PN
