“Yes the original date was said to be September but the Chinese guys here have ensured that we speed up everything so that we’ll be able to finish the work the month before”
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Farmers braving the elements on the streets of Fugalei to sell their produce can finally see the end of the tunnel.
Nearly three years after they were told to leave, when the government decided to demolish the old market, there is reason to be optimistic today.
The completion of the Fugalei market is now a month away.
Officials told the Samoa Observer yesterday that the completion date has been brought forward to the end of August, as opposed to September.
The market, which has been reduced from a two-storey multi-million-tala building to a single dwelling open plan building, is being built by Chinese company, Qing Dao Construction.
No one from Qing Dao would speak on record yesterday.
But one of the officials on the site was happy to talk.
“Everything is pretty much done,” he said.
“As you can see, the market just needs a few more touches then it’s finished.”
The official said they are optimistic that the building will be ready for use by the end of next month.
“We are now working on tar sealing the road and the parking area so the only thing left now is the bus terminal,” he said
The official said there has been pressure “from the top” to finish the market before the Small Islands Developing States (S.I.D.S) conference in September.
“Yes the original date was said to be September but the Chinese guys here have ensured that we speed up everything so that we’ll be able to finish the work the month before.”
Asked why the project, which was supposed to have been completed in March, was delayed, the official admitted that there were many problems along the way.
“Not only did our supplies come all the way from China but the communication between the local workers and the Chinese was not easy,” he said.
“We couldn’t communicate well with each other and if we did, we’d use hand signs instead. So it slowed us a bit. There were also 'bureaucratic challenges' involving the government and politicians," he said.
Asked to elaborate, the official declined.
He, however, assured that the market has been built to “top international standards” because “we want to make sure it lasts for a very long time.”
The official added that they have decided to pull down the fence that blocked the public’s view because we want them to see that the market is nearly finished.
Lastly, he said: “Everyone is putting in twice the effort to finishing this market now."
“The government wants us to finish before the Small Island Developing States conference and that’s what we are doing.”
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