Thursday, May 26, 2011

A New ‘New Market’ Unveiled

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An elegant dome is seen atop French style Centeral Market “Phsar Thom Thmei” as it reopens Wednesday, May 25, 2011, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, after seven years of renovations. Central Market is a large market constructed in 1937 in the shape of a dome with four arms branching out into vast hallways with countless stalls of goods. (Photo: AP)
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Phnom Penh’s Central Market or “Phsar Thom Thmei” (‘Grand New Market’ in Khmer) is being renovated in July 2010. (Soeung Sophat, VOA Khmer)

Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Wednesday, 25 May 2011

Authorities re-inaugurated Phnom Penh’s 74-year-old New Market on Wednesday, following a years-long renovation.

Eric Beugnot, country director for the French Development Agency, said the facelift was done with the “historic quality” of the market in mind.

New Market, known to many foreigners and tourists as Central Market, was repainted in a yellow reminiscent of its French colonial past, with roadways along the side widened.

The market, which first opened in 1937, has 3,000 shops, ranging from stationary and electronics, to rice, meat and trinkets for tourists.

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