Newly refurbished market “possibly the best in Europe”

BALEARIC leader Jaume Matas, Mayor of Palma Catalina Cirer and market chairman Antoni Crespi officially opened the newly furbished Olivar Market in the Plaza Olivar yesterday. The ceremony was attended by Maria Antonia Munar, president of the Council of Majorca; Margalida Moner, the minister of agriculture and fisheries; Kurt Josep Viaene, the director general of industrial promotion and Francisco Tutzó, the director general of commerce. Matas and Cirer unveiled a commemorative plaque and the entourage then made a tour of the market stalls, and the supermarket which has been installed in the first floor. Crespí said that the Olivar now combined a traditional market with a supermarket, which gave shoppers the opportunity to find products not usually available at the stalls. He described it as a pioneer of a new type of market which is both functional and comfortable to shop in.
Cirer said it was “possibly the best market in Europe” and repeated the council's promise to continue improving the installations. Improvements, she said, would include a nursery. She also promised improvements to other city markets.
Matas said that the Olivar guaranteed the life of the small and medium sized trader, and helped in the recovery of “the traditional life of the city centre.” The market has an innovative system of centralised refrigeration found only in one other Spanish market, which reduces the amount of noise.