MUKAH: The commercial building (pic) in the new township here used to be abuzz with business activities during the day in its early years of existence but now is eerily quiet.
Impressively-designed, the double-storey building belongs to a local authority.
A check by New Sarawak Tribune yesterday found the building houses about 20 trading units at both ground and first floors.
However, many of the units were not utilised, resulting in the sombre atmosphere within.
It was learned that the ground floor was once used as a wet market, but it lasted for a short while only.
Fishmongers and fishermen abandoned the wet market because they realised that the place was very inconvenient in terms of transporting their merchandise.
They returned to the original wet market at the riverbank in the old bazaar, and remain there until today.
The ground floor was later rented out to a furniture company which enjoyed good business, resulting in the building well patronised.
When the furniture company moved out some years later, the ground floor was slightly renovated to make way for new trading units to be built.
Since then business hasn’t picked up, especially during the day.
Business only comes at night when traders set up food and drink stalls in the compound of the building.
