The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) has announced that it is now aiming to reopen the Red Market, a listed building, in early June as its renovation has been completed.

The municipal wet market’s 127 stalls which were in operation when the renovation started about two years ago will all move back from a temporary building where they are currently operating.

The bureau made the announcement in a statement on Friday, when it also organised a media tour of the renovated Red Market building.

The Red Market, officially known as Almirante Lacerda Municipal Market, is located on the corner of Avenida de Horta e Costa and Avenida do Almirante Lacerda.

The Red Market, which opened in 1936, was listed as a heritage site under the category of “buildings of architectural interest” in the 1990s. It is the only wet market building in Macau listed as a cultural heritage site.

The Red Market’s renovation project got off the ground in May 2022. The bureau said at that time that the renovation was needed due to its ageing structure and facilities.

Before the renovation’s commencement, the Red Market temporarily closed in late March 2022 when its stalls were moved to a temporary wet market building, which is located near the Patane Market Municipal Complex, for continuous business operations.

Friday’s IAM statement said that the Red Market’s renovation has been completed, adding that the project has now entered its final survey inspection and formal acceptance stage.

The bureau will now commence operation tests of the renovated market’s facilities, the statement said, adding that the bureau plans to arrange for stalls to move back late next month and aims to reopen the wet market in early June.

The statement said that the bureau will soon organise fact-finding trips to the renovated market for stallholders, enabling them to be well prepared for the move back.

According to the statement, the 127 stalls will comprise 12 vegetable stalls, 76 fish and seafood stalls, 17 pork stalls, 2 beef stalls, 8 chilled product stalls, 7 grocery stalls, 4 tofu and bean sprout stalls, and 1 frozen meat stall.

The statement also reaffirmed that the Red Market’s renovation project turned out to be difficult because of the need to strike the right balance between the protection of the building’s architectural characteristics as a heritage site and ensuring that its structure would be well consolidated.

The statement noted that the renovation has included improving the market’s lighting system and installing an air-conditioning system and barrier-free lifts. In addition, the renovation has also enlarged the market’s public toilet space and increased the number of female toilet cubicles in relation to male ones.

During Friday’s media tour, IAM officials noted that there was a total of 184 stalls – including 57 vacant ones – before the Red Market was renovated, adding that the renovation has restructured the market’s internal layout because of which the number of stalls has been reduced to 149.

The officials said that all of the 127 stalls that had operated before the renovation will move back when the market reopens.

The officials said that the bureau still does not have a timetable as to when it will launch a public tender for the lease and operation of the 22 remaining stalls.

The officials also noted that the renovation cost around 73 million patacas. 

These handout photos taken and released by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) on Friday show the renovated Red Market and a fish stall.