Authorities re-inaugurated Phnom Penh’s 74-year-old New Market on Wednesday, following a years-long renovation.
Eric Beugnot, country director for the French Development Agency, said the facelift was done with the “historic quality” of the market in mind.
New Market, known to many foreigners and tourists as Central Market, was repainted in a yellow reminiscent of its French colonial past, with roadways along the side widened.
Phnom Penh's Central Market or "Phsar Thom Thmei" ('Grand New Market' in Khmer) is being renovated in July 2010.
The market, which first opened in 1937, has 3,000 shops, ranging from stationary and electronics, to rice, meat and trinkets for tourists.