When 'temporary' means 20 years

Of the city's six 'provisional' markets, the youngest has been going for 13 years and one for 27 years, but despite years of pleading from neighbours, the government still has no plans to act

Decades-old temporary markets will remain provisional facilities despite residents' endless pleading with the government for improvements to them or demolition.

District councillors complain that the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) is not willing to improve conditions at the markets because of their temporary status.

The department manages five temporary markets and one temporary cooked food market. Most have been 'temporary' for nearly 20 years. The temporary market in Haiphong Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, has been operating since 1978.

One, Tai Kok Tsui Temporary Market, will be demolished and the stalls moved to a new complex to be completed in September. A recreational venue will be built on the site. But the rest of the markets will remain.

District councillors said residents living nearby have different hopes for these markets, which have vacancy rates running as high as 72.88 per cent at Tung Chau Street Temporary Market.

Yau Tsim Mong district councillor Alexis Chan Kin-shing said there were not enough market facilities in Tsim Sha Tsui. Older residents hoped to keep the market, but with better facilities, rather than wait for a brand new one, he said.