A new shopping complex will rise from the ashes of a wet market and coffee shop in Jurong West that was destroyed by fire in October last year.

Estimated to cost $6.2 million, the government-funded two-storey building will include a 420sqm market with 35 stalls, a 433sqm coffee shop on the ground floor and an active ageing hub upstairs.  

The fire hit 51 stallholders and the neighbouring coffee shop, which was badly damaged. Many stallholders resumed business at a temporary wet market, and most are interested in moving to the new complex, says Jurong MP Ang Wei Neng.

Stallholders at the temporary wet market, formerly a basketball court, say they have seen a marked dip in trade, reports the Straits Times. Hawker Ang Hock Dee, who has been selling fish for more than 30 years, said business had plunged by about 20 per cent since he moved to the temporary market.

Stallholders have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars a day in income since the fire, which broke out overnight. A 41-year-old Singaporean was charged shortly afterwards with arson. Police say he set fire to styrofoam boxes at the market knowing his action would likely destroy the premises.

Meanwhile, plans just released show Jurong Central Plaza will feature non-slip tiles as well as better ventilation. The wet market and eating house on the ground floor will be about the same size as the previous market.

Construction work started this year and is targeted to be completed by the end of next December, reports Channel NewsAsia.