Dear Editor – HONIARA City Council should now seriously consider relocating Honiara’s central market to another location.
This is for the simple reason the current location is now small and can no longer accommodate any expansion plans.
By relocating the market, the council can use the existing site for other development purposes.
The market is currently located in the heart of Honiara. The site was selected when Honiara was still a small town.
It may have appeared those who put the market in its current location have not considered that Honiara is a growing town.
When the Japanese Government stepped in and offered to fund the current market building, authorities failed to foresee that in 20 years’ time, the existing site will not be able to accommodate a growing population.
Now we know the current location is not only small, but is also sandwiched between the growing numbers of buildings on its sides.
The time is therefore right for the council to start the relocation discussion.
Land for a new market site would be a big issue. We all know this.
But it’s an issue that must not stand in the way of the council to relocate the market.
The public expects the council to be vigilant and persuasive in its pursuit to identify a bigger site for the city’s central market.
It must not wait for the next five years to do this. Because by then, it may be even difficult to identify a suitable site.
The existing market site is best left to accommodate another modern building similar to Central Plaza, which is just about to be completed next to the site.
This is something the council could consider as part of its relocation exercise.
Happy New Year!
Sendrick Bana
Honiara
