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It will not be known when the point will be made in the negotiations between the Klaipėda City Council and the sole possible investor of the Senasis turgus company, which will last almost a year. As long as the two parties to the negotiations, which have been repeatedly interrupted and resumed, agree on the terms of the contract, the company is taking steps to increase its attractiveness and invest in a better working environment for traders.
The debate on the future of the company Senasis turgus, which belongs to the municipality of Klaipėda City and occupies almost a fifth of the old town of Klaipėda, has already been held for the fourth year. The members of the municipal council of the previous legislature, who were not satisfied with the market activities or the financial indicators of the company, at that time raised the issue of reactivating the market activities – seeking cardinal changes.
By order of the Klaipėda City Municipal Administration, a feasibility study was prepared to attract investment to the Senasis turgus company, streamline the company’s activities and improve results. The Civitta company, which prepared this document, noted that intentional renovation and investment can radically change not only the Old Market and its surroundings, but also revitalize the entire Old Town. A technical project for the reconstruction of the market hall was carried out at the request of the Senasis turgus company, and a building permit was obtained, but considerable investments are required to implement the project.
When addressing the issue of attracting investment to the company “Senasis turgus”, the council was offered three options on how to attract investment to this area:
1. sell the shares of a municipal company;
2. merge the Mercado Viejo with another municipal company Nuevo Mercado;
3. Find an investor who for 49 percent. shares (in monetary terms equivalent to 1.6 million euros) of the building on Turgaus str. 5 reconstruction of the hall, development of the market area.
The last option turned out to be the most attractive for the Klaipėda City Council College, so in June last year, with the approval of the City Council, the Klaipėda City Council Administration announced the search for an investor owned by Senasis turgus . The objective is to guarantee the reconstruction of the market, the development of the market area, the continuity of the company’s activities, improve the quality of its services, increase the attractiveness of this area, turn it into a center of attraction. An offer was received from the private port company Tilžės turgus. She presented an action plan – her vision of how to bring new content and quality to the old town area. The renovation of the property of the Senasis turgus company is planned – the reconstruction of the trading hall, as well as the arrangement of the adjacent territories. However, the legislation governing the management of municipally owned companies has changed during the negotiation period, leading to longer-than-expected negotiations.
Vision: a western market
“We want a western market, the one we see in big European cities: cozy, attractive, small, where fresh food is sold, exclusive products from the old town, not cheap Chinese. Our old town is small, cozy, there must be a market that people want to visit, come here not only to buy, but also to socialize, have a good time, maybe not only to buy something, but also to sell, that market it’s our goal, Klaipeda said. Gintaras Neniškis, director of the municipal administration of the city.
We talk to each trader, we discuss what to do to make people feel comfortable to work.
According to him, the Old Market should not compete with the Tilsit market, which has a completely different concept, or with another municipal company, the New Market. “The goal of the municipality is to fix the infrastructure throughout the territory of the Old Market, which is located in the historic part of the city,” said Edvardas Simokaitis, head of the municipality’s property management department.
He noted that another project aims to improve the infrastructure of Market Square and the surrounding streets. The integrated solution is expected to bring this quarter to life and a completely different quality.
Changes: merchant approval
Vyacheslav Karmanov, acting director of the Old Market, director of the New Market since the beginning of March this year, recalled that when he saw the state of the Old Market, a plan of measures was immediately drawn up to improve the conditions of traders and update The inventory. but the plans were thwarted on March 16. Quarantine for coronavirus infection (COVID-19) was introduced. Then the trade in non-food products, flowers was banned, the number of buyers dropped dramatically.
According to V. Karmanov, the first impressions when he started working for the company “Senasis turgus” were: showcases, disorderly electrical installation, unguarded premises “.
As soon as the government allowed the resumption of trading in the markets, decisions were first made to improve conditions for existing traders. Renewable lighting: LED bulbs will replace wasteful fluorescent bulbs. New refrigerated cabinets with less electricity will be delivered later this month, and a fish section in the great hall will be renovated alongside the merchants’ meat. This decision was made after it became clear that long-term fish trading in a separate building was not possible due to the emergency condition of the building. It is scheduled to start on November 15. other merchants who now trade in fruits and vegetables will be able to settle in the room. Buyers will soon be able to choose meat and its products, fish, dairy products, flowers, fruits and vegetables in one place: the living room.
Project visualization
“We talked to all the traders, we discussed what to do to make it convenient for people to work,” said V. Karmanov, acting manager of the company “Senasis turgus”. According to him, although no major changes have been seen yet, the company has already managed to attract new traders, mostly farmers, who every Saturday bring their cultivated or manufactured products from various parts of Lithuania and sell them in the Market Square.
According to the municipality’s market manager, the image of the Old Market is overshadowed by the market pavilions built along Taikos Avenue, which are to be demolished. It is planned that, after the layout of the square, artisans who sell the so-called products, sellers of souvenirs, take away food, etc. can be installed.
“Why are there no flows of merchants and buyers in the Old Market? They will not be there until we create the right conditions “, is convinced V. Karmanov.
He did not deny that the planned investment will make the commercial space more expensive, but, according to the head of the company, this has been discussed with the merchants and they support it because they want better conditions.
“The market is a promising field of activity. We see a gradual increase in the flow of buyers, it is gratifying, so we do not intend to stop,” said the manager of the port market, who can often be found at work On Saturday mornings, the market, where you visit to learn about the problems and expectations of buyers and sellers. One is to make the Old Market work every day, not two or three days a week.
“My goal is to revive the market, make it modern, attractive to residents and tourists,” stressed V. Karmanov, admitting that wherever he goes, he always visits the central markets of the city.
He admits that not all the ideas brought from there can be implemented, because we have other traditions: people after 7 pm on the streets, a minority, and in hot countries life in the markets is lively almost until midnight. However, the head of the municipal market is optimistic: various initiatives to attract buyers and merchants are beginning to bear fruit.
None of the interlocutors dared to predict when the end of the negotiations with a potential investor was expected.
“I hope we make a decision at the end of this year: if we continue negotiating, if we end this process as a failure and go to another option, which in any case should be discussed with the municipal council,” said GG Insano. If the second year of negotiations with Tilžės turgus were to be concluded by consensus, the transaction would still have to be approved by the port city council and all the details of the deal would have to be discussed in council committees.
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