Traders are not interested
Hai Son market was completed in mid-2023, a project under the criteria for building new rural areas in the period of 2021 - 2025. With a usable area of over 5,000m2, the market is designed with a main market yard of over 444m2, a fish market yard, a toilet, a garbage collection pit, a concrete yard... The project is expected to become a centralized trading point, creating a civilized trading space, ensuring environmental hygiene.
After completion, the People's Committee of Hai Son commune signed a contract with Bao Minh Joint Stock Auction Company to organize an auction of 22 lot lots. However, by the end of the application sale, no one had registered. The whole market is quiet, with no people, no stalls, no goods. Some items have begun to crack and rust due to being exposed to the sun and rain for a long time without being used.
According to people living next to the market, the newly built market is beautiful, but the road to the market is still muddy, and people are used to going to My Chanh market and Hai Tan market, so traders are not interested.
In addition to the lack of synchronous infrastructure and people used to buy and sell in nearby markets, another reason why traders are not very interested is that the rental price of the stall is considered high compared to the purchasing power and actual needs of the people.
Hope for support
Mr. Le Van Huan - Chairman of Hai Son Commune People's Committee - said that in July 2023, Hai Lang District People's Committee approved the rental floor price for the stalls in the market. 12 lots at the main market communal house (area of 12m2/lot) cost from 36 - 39.6 million VND/5 years (about 7.2 - 7.9 million VND/year). 10 lots at the supermarket communal house (area of 9m2/lot) cost from 16.2 - 17.8 million VND/5 years (ie 3.2 - 3.5 million VND/year).
"Although this price has been balanced, it is still not suitable for actual business conditions. We have promoted and mobilized traders in many forms, but no one has bought documents to participate in the auction" - Mr. Huan shared.
Not only the rental price is high, the infrastructure connecting to the market has not yet been invested synchronously. The road to the market is muddy in the rainy season and dusty in the sun. The People's Committee of Hai Son commune has proposed that the district support investment in the road leading to the market to facilitate traders, but it has not been approved.
"The state of prolonged abandonment causes the project to deteriorate, wasting the State budget. We are asking for the district's opinion to review the floor price and develop a new, more reasonable rental plan," Mr. Huan added.
According to Mr. Huan, some traders wish to receive initial support to enter the market to trade stably. Specifically, in the first year, only expenses such as electricity, water, sanitation, and protection will be collected; from the second year onwards, a full fee will be applied.
The leader of Hai Lang District People's Committee said that the locality has assigned Hai Son Commune People's Committee to study and propose solutions to "rescue" the new market. If the solutions proposed are not synchronous, from infrastructure investment to policy support for traders, this 4 billion VND project is at risk of being wasted in the long term.
