Orussey vendors to move for repairs as cracks appear in mezzanine area
THE Phnom Penh Municipal Hall on Tuesday told vendors selling goods at some parts of the Orussey Market in Prampi Makara district to temporarily relocate to make it easier to repair damage to prevent possible accidents.
In its notice on Tuesday, t he administration said t hat while t he rest of t he building is strong, cracks have appeared on the mezzanine area causing concern.
To ensure public safety, vendors selling goods on or below the mezzanine area were asked to relocate temporarily outside the market before the given deadline.
“If [the mezzanine] is left in its present state any longer, it could be dangerous to vendors and customers. It could also damage nearby properties.
“[ The vendors would have to move] to make it possible for the technical working group to repair it. The sooner they finish the repairs, the sooner the vendors can return to sell their goods without risk of accidents,” the notice said.
Hort Vanthy, the chairman of the management committee for Orussey Market, told The Post on Wednesday that repairing the damage in the market will affect vendors at some 128 stalls.
An assessment by the technical working group said the damage would take more than 200 days to complete.
“We will only repair the mezzanine and the parking area for motorcycles. The owner of the mezzanine area will cover the cost of the repairs to the ceiling.
“The vendors themselves will cover the cost of damage on the ground floor and their stalls. They will also cover the cost of building makeshift stalls outside,” said Vanthy.
However, he could not confirm when repairs would begin.
“The board of district and city governors has allowed the selling of goods at the relocation area. So we ask all of [the vendors] to participate. If they do, the repairs will begin immediately. Further delay may cause possible dangers,” he stressed.
A 60-year-old vendor told The Post on Wednesday that repairing the market had long been planned after some cracks and leaks appeared at the mezzanine area.
Over the past few years, the structure had incurred further damage, causing safety concerns.
“We don’t object to anything if they honour their promises. As I said, if 10 people agree to relocate, one or two vendors can’t say that they object. We will follow the majority vote.
“However, after the repairs have been made, we expect that they would allow us to sell goods at the same place,” she said.
She noted that affected vendors had to shell out their own money to build makeshift stalls on the new location. Some $600 per 1.5m by 2m stall had already been spent for the relocation.
Another vendor, who has been selling goods at the market for nearly two decades, said she had noticed the cracks getting worse.
“In the years that I sold here, some cracks have started to appear. We’ve seen big cracks, cement falling, steel protruding and serious leaks during the rainy season.
“We just held a meeting with the district governor and we decided to tear down the mezzanine area and rebuild it. But it depends on when the market committee will start construction,” said the vendor.
Vanthy said nearly 20 years have passed since the market opened on August 3, 2000. In t he inter vening years, more than 5,000 sta lls had been built.