An open heart operation for Cagliari. For its people and its historic economy. But the Municipality says that there is still no definitive project for the San Benedetto market of the future. Which, under penalty of losing Pnrr funds, must be ready by 2026. We are working "on the basis of refinements", it seems.
The parking lots
Meanwhile, a move is being organized in Piazza Nazzari, the first binding deadline for securing EU funding is approaching and, only now, are we starting to discuss a problem: parking. Those few that are there outside will disappear to create a pedestrian square. The preliminary project decrees the farewell to 5,695 square meters of crucial stalls for a commercial activity. According to the technical offices, "the need arises to implement policies to strengthen collective, slow and sustainable mobility to connect the market with the neighboring neighborhoods and with the entire urban area". And there are plans to impose the construction of stalls to serve the business in the event of the green light for the redevelopment of the former Cao furniture factory, next door. Hypothesis. Solutions: none. Of course, redoing the market was necessary, according to the documents and whoever works or buys in the building dating back to 1957. But in the rectangle between Bacaredda, Pacinotti, Cocco Ortu and Tiziano streets they say: "A leap in the dark, let's hope it goes well."
The process
The municipal council approved the preliminary project of the new market on 20 December 2022. It states that "a budget of 31 million has been foreseen, to which is added the expenditure for the design of 249,536.24 euros". The deadlines that cannot be extended were also indicated: it was necessary to "award the works by 30 July 2023", pay "at least 30% of the work progress by 30 September 2024" and "finish the works by 30 June 2026". Ten days later, on 30 December, the tender was announced. Value: 21 million and 773 thousand euros. The deadline for submitting offers was set for May 22nd. Only one arrived: that of Impresa Pellegrini Srl of Confindustria president Maurizio De Pascale. On July 25th the award was decreed to the only participant, who received 100 points out of 100, presenting a reduction of 4.68%. The market should therefore cost 19,071,327 euros, plus 1,301,381 for the design. In addition to security costs and, obviously, VAT.
Times
According to the feasibility study, it will take 560 days to complete the work from the moment the keys to the construction site are delivered. A year and ten months, approximately. So: starting in February '24 (presumed date), we would arrive at the first days of 2026 to remove the nets. Then the operations for the return of all the operators to the new home, from Piazza Nazzari, would begin. Long times? Perhaps. And at the risk of not being in line with an intervention that could have been closer to the needs of traders, operators and historical users. Especially if we take into account possible – and frequent – delays for interventions of this magnitude. Administration and business could shorten operations, perhaps by introducing bonuses into the contract in the event of advances to deadlines. The people of Cagliari hope so.
The intervention
The declared objective is not to distort the identity of the "civic market". But the structure will be rethought: long sides of the shell, subject to demolition and reconstruction, will be re-proposed in the forms and characteristics of the existing ones. Only the head volumes, subject to restoration, will be preserved", i.e. the entrances on via Pacinotti and Bacaredda. Inside there will be a new distribution of the sales sectors. The basement disappears. On the ground floor there will be 43 fish sellers on the Via Bacaredda side, 33 fruit and vegetable sellers towards Via Pacinotti. All in the center, with free walls. Then a cafeteria and three commercial premises. On the first floor there are 43 food boxes and 41 for meat only. Then there is the panoramic terrace, which will host 29 "food" spaces and (perhaps) a restaurant. This 108 by 36 meter "penthouse" will be covered by photovoltaic panels. And it is also on the characteristics of the roof that we are working now. Before approving the long-awaited definitive project.
Nazzari Square
Meanwhile there is Piazza Nazzari. The appointment for May 2023, set for October '22, passed in vain. The next hypothesis indicated September 2023. Now we are talking about February 2024. We travel through the years when, documents in hand, we reconstruct the history of the project for the creation of the temporary "market". Approximately 4000 square meters: 3,250 covered, of which 2275 dedicated to sales. They will have to accommodate the 188 owners of the market stalls - without quotation marks - of San Benedetto destined for almost total demolition and renovation. In a space theoretically designed and financed to be a Music Park. Construction is progressing: on the sign hanging on the construction site fence it says "work completion date: 31 January 2024". And that will be, barring further slippages, the location for "old Casteddaio style" shopping in the following three years. Better: for "at least" three years. This is what the preliminary project says. The mantra is: «Let's hope everything goes well».
The race
One hundred and eighty days. Six months, more or less. This is the duration of the construction site foreseen by the special tender specifications which bear the date of 5 December 2022. The intervention started between the end of August and September: barring accelerations, the workers could also be on the field in February. If they also work during the holidays. The feasibility project for the work was approved on 20 December last year. The estimated cost was 7,350,000 euros: funds coming from the Pnrr (the financing of the entire operation on the markets is 31 million), with the Municipality and Metropolitan City of Cagliari bound to respect the deadlines on the basis of an agreement signed with the Ministry of the Interior on 31 May 2022. On 23 December the tender for the construction of the temporary "market" was announced. The tender amount was 5,673,000 euros. Four months and here is the award: the temporary group consisting of ConsCoop of Forlì as agent, therefore a sort of group leader, and the Sardinian ProfilSider in the role of principal wins. With a rating of 83.01 points out of 100 and discounts of 30% on planning and 3.36% on works. A temporary structure which, between intervention and safety costs, will have an estimated cost of just under 5.5 million. Plus VAT.
Structure
The documents state that "a technical and economic feasibility project has been prepared with a rather high level of definition in order to significantly influence the final design". There was a constraint that could not be circumvented: the tiled square cannot support a weight exceeding 600 kilos per square meter. And we opted for a solution "inspired by prefabricated boxes" but ensuring that the prefabrication was "limited to the construction elements entirely chosen from the production ordinarily put on the market", that the boxes "could be created in situ" and that it was guaranteed «contextual coverage of the spaces intended for sales and user routes without further additional superstructures». There was a rush. And the preliminary phase also defines methods and materials of interconnection between beams and characteristics of the bolts. The detail on all the infrastructures necessary to guarantee optimal operation and hygienic-sanitary conditions is significant. But critical issues emerged from paper to practice.
Criticalities
Parking, first and foremost. They write from the Municipality: «The replacement of a square used occasionally and mainly by citizens who do not use the vehicle to get there, or for cultural events mainly in the evening or at night, will severely distort the methods of use of the neighboring roads with a significant increase in the morning hours» . Operators with vehicles lower than 2 meters are guaranteed a parking space in the underground car parks. From the Municipality they assure that those never used because they are unusable will be opened and will be destined for customers: The Ctm, which manages them through Parkar, is not commenting for now. The owners of the boxes also contest the use of only one drain for four boxes, which would not guarantee good water flow. And, above all, there is no agreement on the costs for air conditioning: the Municipality wants to pass them on to the traders. But they are expected to be huge. Additionally, the splits would be turned off when closing and turned on when reopening, to avoid waste. The garages risk being freezing on winter mornings and hot on summer mornings.
