After the sudden closure of the Meat Pavilion at the Riga Central Market, all vendors have been provided with new places to work. Some vendors have already moved to the Fish Pavilion, and special trading trailers have been set up next to the closed building.
An emergency redistribution of trading places has been completed at the Riga Central Market following the closure of the Meat Pavilion for safety reasons.
According to Riga's Vice Mayor Edvards Ratnieks, after inspecting the market, new places have been provided to all meat product vendors within the last 24 hours. He stated that some of the display cases were moved overnight to the Fish Pavilion. Additionally, three trailers have been set up next to the closed Meat Pavilion, where trading is also organized.
Thus, customers can still purchase meat products at the Central Market, although the usual layout of many trading points has changed.
Ratnieks noted that the vendors themselves positively assessed the decision made.
"The crisis situation has been successfully resolved," he paraphrased the vendors' opinion, emphasizing that the products have not spoiled and trading continues.
However, the temporary solution is only intended for the coming months. Starting next year, meat vendors are planned to be relocated to the former Vegetable Pavilion. Before that, the building will need to be adapted for new tasks: updating floors, engineering communications, refrigeration equipment, and carrying out other necessary works.
The situation surrounding the Meat Pavilion has become one of the most discussed topics in the Riga City Council. The day before, the issue was addressed at a coalition council meeting, where all political forces in the coalition supported the further implementation of market development plans.
According to the long-term development concept for the Central Market, the Meat Pavilion is expected to be used for cultural and artistic events after reconstruction in the future.
At the same time, the political consequences of the crisis have not yet been exhausted.
Commenting on the opposition's demand to dismiss the management of Rīgas nami, which manages the Central Market, Ratnieks stated that it is necessary to assess the ability of responsible officials to act in crisis situations.
In his opinion, solutions to exit the crisis could have been found more quickly.
It should be noted that the State Construction Control Bureau prohibited the operation of the Meat Pavilion from June 11 after inspecting its technical condition. Specialists discovered serious corrosion damage in the support nodes of the load-bearing metal structures, as well as cracks and deformations in individual elements. According to the bureau, problems were identified as early as 2020, but the necessary work was never carried out, and the condition of the building continued to deteriorate.
After the pavilion's closure, Riga Mayor Viesturs Kleinbergs ordered an investigation into the actions of Rīgas nami's management to determine why the dangerous situation was not resolved earlier.
For now, the main task has been resolved — trading in meat products at the Central Market continues despite the closure of one of the most famous pavilions.
