A number of sellers who run stalls at the Senen Inpres Market in Senen, Central Jakarta, have raised concerns about the poor condition of the old building and demanded the market operator revitalize it as soon as possible.

Ramos, who runs a gold jewelry store at the market, said the building was in terrible condition and was no longer safe for the thousands of shop owners there. For example, he said, a leaky roof forced sellers who owned businesses in the market'€™s middle area to move their goods when it rained.

'€œI am not really affected by the leaky roof because my kiosk doesn'€™t leak, but for others, they have to move and protect the goods every time it rains,'€ Ramos told The Jakarta Post.

The leaky roof also inundates the floor with rainwater, considerably reducing customers'€™ comfort when they are shopping in the market, the vendors have said. Many vendors have also expressed fear that the two-story building could collapse at any time.

The Senen Inpres Market building, also known is Blok 6, is one among several in Senen Market, the oldest commercial market in the capital. One of the buildings, Blok 3, was razed by a huge fire last year, leaving hundreds of vendors stranded.

The market, a nearby bus terminal and a train station have made the location one of the busiest in the city.

Ramos said 10 years ago Senen Inpres was one of the favorite traditional markets in the capital.

'€œHowever, there are not as many customers in the market as it used to have before. I think this building'€™s condition is one of the reasons,'€ he continued.

Having been built in the 1960s under the governorship of Ali Sadikin, the Senen Inpres Market is currently in miserable repair. The metal structure of the central stairs, the main access connecting the first and the second floors, was rickety, forcing anyone using it to be extra careful.

The paint is no longer white and green like it was originally, but now has dark patches following a fire that ravaged the market in 2010.

Sri, a beverage seller on the first floor of the market, said she had opened her stall almost 20 years ago and the fire in 2010 was not the only one that had occurred in that market.

'€œIt may have been the biggest fire incident, but not the only one. There were at least two more small fires in this market since that happened,'€ she said.

'€œI am just worried that the building could collapse at any time. I hope that whoever is in charge of this market would renovate it before any incident happens.'€

Separately, Senen Market manager Royani agreed that the market condition was alarming and said the market operator had signed a contract with a private company to revitalize the building.

However, according to him, vendors who were previously renting kiosks were reluctant to meet the market operator'€™s new price tags for each kiosk, having been set at Rp 60 million (US$4,628) per square meter on the first floor and Rp 40 million per square meter on the second floor.

'€œRecently, the vendors, through a number of representatives, have declared that they agree with the price, so we will start the revitalization project in September,'€ Royani told the Post in his office on the second floor of the market.

There are currently 2,230 vendors in the market, Royani said.

Royani said the market operators had also agreed that during the construction process they would provide temporary shelter for the vendors in a place where they would not be charged rent.

He added that when the revitalization was finished, he was sure that the Senen Inpres Market would be packed with customers.

'€œThe vendors will be relocated to the temporary shelters in May and we expect the market revitalization to be finished in September 2017,'€ he said.

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