The first floor will house about 28 lots of food and beverage stalls.
The Air Panas Community Centre in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, will finally open its doors at the end of the month, eight years after its construction was announced by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
The project, which involved the building of a community hall and hawker centre, was first mooted in 2008 by then Federal Territories minister and Setiawangsa MP Datuk Seri Zulhasnan Rafique. It was scheduled for completion in 2010.
However, the project stalled midway when the DBKL-appointed contractors faced financial and management troubles. Their contract was terminated by DBKL in 2013.
Located in front of the Air Panas Wet Market in Jalan Air Jerneh, the original cost of the project was estimated to be RM7.8mil.
Setiawangsa MP Datuk Ahmad Fauzi Zahari said the project was revived in 2014 at a cost of RM14mil.
“As the project had stopped when it was 60% complete, there was not much structural change we could do. However, we did some rectification on the previous contractor’s work.
“We have also improved on the overall facade and specifications of the project,” he said during a site visit.
On compensation for the hawkers who were relocated for the project to take place, Ahmad Fauzi said DBKL had paid out RM84,000.
He added that all 28 hawkers who were temporarily relocated from the site, would be housed on the first floor of the two-storey hawker centre.
“The second floor, which has 15 units, will be for other businesses such as hair salons and electronics retail shops,” he said.
Project manager Rachel S.C. Koh said changes were made to the colour scheme and finishing.
“Each food and beverage lot will come equipped with a fan and an industrial exhaust fan,” she said.
She added that there were 61 parking bays and 36 motorcycle bays at the centre.
Ahmad Fauzi said the community hall could accommodate 500 people and has three badminton courts.
“There will also be six meeting rooms, which can be rented out, as well as a kindergarten managed by DBKL,” he said.
Trader Chan Sow Wah, 49, hoped DBKL would speed up the opening of the hawker centre.
“We are looking forward to operating from the new building,” she said, adding she had been operating there for the past 24 years.
Another trader Loh Kam Kiew, 48, also said the hawker centre would be a big improvement compared to the conditions where they had operated from.
“Before this, we had only umbrella canopies and many customers complained about the heat,” she said.
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