With the recent plans for the authentic development of Davao City’s Chinatown, a proposal to have a night market is also being eyed to, similar to those in Roxas Avenue.
On Monday, Steve Arquiza of the Davao City Chinatown Development Council (DCCDC) said that they are eyeing to make R. Magsaysay Avenue and its adjacent roads to be an area wherein Chinese foods and products will be highlighted in the area to attract more tourist for the city.
“We wanted to promote the night market in Chinatown, considering the area is considered dead once it reaches night time,” Arquiza said.
Although he clarified that the proposal is still on the technical working committee, they are also planning to allocate open spaces for Chinese hawker restaurants similar to Singapore and Malaysia.
In late October, the Davao City Council through Councilor Al Ryan Alejandre bared their plans of passing an ordinance requiring all establishments in the Chinatown area to have a “Chinese Theme Façade” in the event of renovation or construction.
A year earlier, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio signed an executive order that would create a CDC, tasked to organize the development of the large expanse of Chinatown properties in the first district.
Aside from its beautification, the committee will make sure that the area will be developed along with its classification.
“Most communities are not familiar that Chinatown is not only a business zone, but also a tourism development zone,” Arquiza said.
Currently, the CDC is conducting a series of meetings with the City Planning and Development Office, the City Environment and Natural Resources Office and other concerned agencies to come up with a development plan that will help in assessing the needs of the Chinatown area.
“The technical working group is hoping to finish this, in order to proceed with the public consultation,” Arquiza said, hoping to file a draft proposal before the end of Mayor Sara’s term as city mayor in 2019.
He added, “We wanted to make the policy environment conducive for private sectors to develop the area along with the Chinatown theme.”
