THE Municipality of Argao in southern Cebu will build a new public market building for P17 million.This comes after the Municipal Council, led by Vice Mayor Orvi Ortega, approved Resolution 113-2022 authorizing Mayor Allan Sesaldo to enter into a contract or agreement with San Narciso Builders Corp. to supply labor, materials and equipment for the construction of the Argao Market Center Building at the Argao Public Market in Barangay Lamacan.The resolution sponsored by Sanggunian Bayan Member Gus Anthony Bacalso last July 22 specifies that the contract price of P11,693,436 is only for Phase 1 of the project involving a Textile Section and a Food Park.Mayor Sesaldo said the municipality was preparing an additional P5 million to complete the project.“We can already start bidding right after the first phase is being completed. Second phase will start or commence immediately. So if the question is, within the allocated budget including the P5 million, would it be enough to complete the entire structure to be usable? The answer is yes!” a report posted on the town’s Facebook page last month quoted him as saying.The construction will begin after the end of the celebrations for the town’s fiesta in late September.The project intends to address the problems of sanitation and drainage at the market, as well as the selling of fish outside the market, among other things, the municipal government said.Vice Mayor Ortega also revealed that a budget had been approved for the repair of damaged roofs in the market due to last December’s Typhoon Odette (Rai).