APCOM

"Asian Trading Milan Center": this is the name of the first commercial area that, in 24 or 36 months, will host the wholesale activity of Milanese's Chinatown. Today Chinese wholesale takes place in Paolo Sarpi street, in the heart of Milano, but yesterday the city Council presented a project that entails its move to Missaglia Street, in the Gratosoglio peripheral borough. This is a very important issue for Milano because Sarpi's Chinatown is one of the largest in Europe and, in Milano, the resident Chinese population has more than doubled to about 12.000 in 10 years.

The Asian Trading Center needs the Chinese trader's approval: they want to evaluate other proposals too and are expecting economical special terms to move away: "Otherwise - they say - we will stay here". The Council project still has to be approved from Gratosoglio's inhabitants too: they're very worried about the borough's future with the commercial center in it. The Asian Trading Milan Center will take place in a 53.000 square meters area in Missaglia Street. Currently the area is disused, but in three years time the Council wants to a 3.000 square meters "services building" and a 43.000 square meters exposition area, with a car park, a hotel and a residence. The center will probably host a "Chinese Art Museum" too. But Chinese traders are not so interested in the architectural project: they still want to know more about prices and special terms.

Chinese traders have worked a lot and are now looking for the right place to move wholesale activity away from Sarpi Street", said general Chinese consul Zhang Limin, asking "historical Italian inhabitant of Chinatown to be patient, because we can't solve this problem in few days". Pierfranco Lionetto, president of the borough's inhabitant association "ViviSarpi", said: "We are being patient since 1999. We know that this is an important project and that it needs time, but we would like to know that traders will certainly move away". At the same time, Italian residents in Paolo Sarpi Street are still asking the introduction of a traffic limited area in their borough, but Italian and Chinese traders aren't very happy with the solution.