RM964,000 facelift

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SOME 90 traders and hawkers at the Air Itam Market are all smiles now — thanks to the completion of the RM964,000 facelift project there.

From afar, the new modern-looking signboard bearing the words ‘Pasar Awam Air Itam’ (Air Itam Market) which is written in three other languages and located facing the main road could be seen.

The new signboard bearing the words 'Pasar Awam Air Itam' facing the main road.

The complex also saw the re-building of stalls complete with electricity and water supply, new drainage and wiring systems, roller shutters for lots, concrete flooring, fresh paint and upgrading of ceilings and toilets.

The project, which took eight months to be completed, was undertaken by the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP).

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who visited the market on Saturday, said the facelift project was completed on Nov 1.

He said when he first visited the market before the 2008 general election, it was so hot inside that he was thoroughly soaked in sweat from head to toe.

“But today, only my shirt is soaked in sweat. The ventilation is better now after the facelift. The toilets too are of international standard.

“We have injected a fresh look to the market, which was built in 1932,” he told reporters.

Bright and airy: Market-goers patronising the newly upgraded Air Itam market.

Lim added that the state government would continue to upgrade infrastructure and basic amenities at markets periodically for the benefit of the people.

The Air Itam Market was among five markets which were earmarked for upgrading works under the council’s 2010 Budget.

The other markets are those in Batu Maung (completed in March), Cecil Street, Jelutong and Pulau Tikus.