The multi-million-peso brand new and modern mega market in Guihulngan City, featuring state-of-the-art facilities, will be opened for public use next month following the project’s completion and turnover to the local government unit Tuesday afternoon.
The Guihulngan Mega Market is now considered the biggest and most modern in Negros Oriental, according to Louie Tijing of Philsouth Builders, the contractor responsible for building it in a span of two years.
The two-storey mega market, costing P194 million, sits on 7,000 square meters, and boasts of a cold storage facility, a freezer, and a chiller that can each accommodate 20 cubic meters of goods.
The freezer can go as low as negative 23 degrees Centigrade, while the chiller can drop to zero degrees Centigrade, disclosed Tijing.
The mega market has an ice plant that can produce 24 cubes of ice per 24 hours, with each ice cube weighing about 25 kilos, Tijing added.
The building is also equipped with 25 closed- circuit TV cameras, in response to the requirement of the City Mayor Guido Reyes that “there has to be adequate security for the people”, the contractor disclosed.
Another feature is a centralized paging system with around 23 speakers mounted all over the building, as well as four giant weighing scales, smoke detectors for fire protection, and other safety features inside the building.
The mega market also boasts of 174 dry stalls and 72 wet stalls, open space for concessionaires, as well as for the small-business vendors.
A conference room with air-conditioning units and a sound system on the second level of the mega market is also designed to accommodate 150 to 200 people at one sitting.
Tijing assured the residents of Guihulngan of the mega market’s structural integrity, saying it can withstand a Magnitude 6.9 earthquake that devastated the City and other parts of northern Negros Oriental more than four years ago.
Millions of pesos worth of infrastructure, including the old public market of Guihulngan, was destroyed by that tremor.
Guihulngan Vice Mayor Ernesto Reyes said business entities in the old market will be given priority in the assignment of stalls at the new mega market.
This early, more than 500 applicants have signified intention to rent a space in the modern market. They will have to go through a bidding process, Reyes added.
During the market’s conceptualization in 2012, the Land Bank of the Philippines had granted a loan of P200-million for the build-and-design project, which was eventually awarded to Philsouth Builders. Tijing said they are now on the finishing touches stage.
Vice Mayor Reyes said it is scheduled for blessing and inauguration next month.
Meanwhile, Mayor Reyes, in his message, pointed out that the mega market will be a big help to Guihulngan City because it will generate more income, as he said he foresees a return on investment in the coming years.
He disclosed he desires none other than President Duterte to be the guest of honor during the blessing and inauguration next month. (PNA)