Aftermath of December 7 explosion |14 December 2023

Mama Mia (photo……) and ‘Parties & More’ are among businesses that have been given the green light to resume trade

Several traders get green

light to resume business

By Patrick Joubert

Since Monday, over twenty re-occupancy requests have been granted to businesses that have been able to clean up their buildings and tick all boxes required for their premises to be considered safe, secure and in adherence to health regulations, so as to welcome clients.

The re-occupancy exercise in the Providence Industrial Estate started on December 11 by the concerned authorities in a bid to get as many businesses as possible back on track in the aftermath of the explosion at the Civil Construction Company Limited (CCCL) on December7 that caused massive damage in the estate and surrounding areas. Many businesses were partly or entirely affected by the incident.

‘Parties and More’, a party accessory store situated in the Hareng Building, was one among the businesses that received a re-occupancy request certificate to resume its business and welcome clients. The shop had since December 8 undergone maintenance and cleaning mostly done by families and friends.

The shop owner, Nicole Patel, said they received the re-occupancy request certificate early yesterday morning and immediately opened their door to clients although they are still awaiting glass to fix the doors and display windows.

“We did not lose a minute. We opened immediately and I am happy to say we have done actually well since this morning. We had some new clients who walked in; they must have seen us either in the paper, on TV or elsewhere and that is very good news for us at this time,” said Mrs Patel.

“When I first entered the shop after the explosion I said to myself that it would take a long time, at least six months, to re-open. It has taken us four days to open and I would say it is a miracle,” added Mrs Patel, who noted they have been in Providence for the past 10 years.

Mama Mia Deli situated in the Mama Mia Building was another business that was functioning yesterday. Its managing director, Stefano Chionni, said they got the green light since December 9 following inspection by the competent authorities.

Mr Chionni said they are however operating on conditions set by the authority, which has ruled out three offices upstairs and the two on the side of the building. Mama Mia has been operating in Providence for 13 years.

“Luckily our building is in concrete. We are mainly a warehouse, and we do not have too many glasses to display our products. So we did not have major damage on the structure itself,” said Mr Chionni.

He noted however they do have issues with all the windows, shutter doors and the ceilings of the offices upstairs.

“We are working hard to fix as much as we can quickly considering we do not find all the material available on the market right now. But we managed to get back in operation since last Saturday,” Mr Chionni said, adding they had very few clients since the shop opened on December 9 but they received more clients and many phone calls for requests yesterday.

The business was now waiting for a quotation from a contractor to re-do the whole ceiling.

“To be honest, I consider ourselves very lucky compared to most of the buildings around us,” Mr Chionni said.

Excel Motors, the distributor for KIA and Mazda has been operating in Providence for the past 23 years. Its managing director, Anthony Payet, said they are not expecting a re-occupancy certificate as they are still doing maintenance and cleaning.

According to him, they will have to re-do the entire roofing of the building, followed by the interior and the showroom.

Mr Payet said they hope to re-open the vehicle business in phases, noting that 40 cars were damaged in the explosion.

“Weather permitting, the roofing work will take four to six weeks. Then we can open the spare parts and the vehicle repair section. The whole business will be up and running by end of March 2024 considering the work we have to do. We were the most affected among the car dealers,” Mr Payet said.

In the meantime, the company plans to transform its other plot of land on Zone 18 into a distribution centre for customers to collect imported vehicles.

Photos by Patrick Joubert