Merchants normally doing business inside Chapala’s municipal market vacated the premises Monday, November 18, temporarily relocating to tented stalls set up on the north side of the town plaza.
The building was emptied for top-to-bottom renovation of the interior common areas.
The project entails structural reinforcements, replacement of water, sewage and electrical installations, upgrades of the flooring and wall plastering and the addition of solar panels as an energy-saving power source.
The work is being handled by a private company that put in the lowest bid for a local government contract, for a total cost of just under five million pesos. Jalisco’s Ministry of Agriculture and Social Development will contribute 3.5 million pesos, with the municipality covering the rest of the bill.
Under the estimated time-line, merchants will be able to return to their normal work spaces in approximately six weeks. Until then they will operate from the makeshift outdoor quarters.
Occupants of the business locales situated in the arcade on the west side of the market will be temporarily relocated during the final four weeks of the project. Those operating in other exterior spaces will not be affected.