Just lit up but then deserted
In October, the night market is now lit up after a temporary shutdown. While rearranging the goods hanging on the shelves, Ms. Truong Thi Lan - a children's toy seller in Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho City - said: "The market is open again, the roads are also bright. When the market was temporarily closed, there were few customers, I went in and out and didn't see any of my business partners, which made me sad."
However, Ms. Lan's joy was not complete due to the impact of thunderstorms and high tides in recent days, causing the number of visitors to decrease.
"Can Tho is in the rainy season so there are frequent storms, high tides and floods so there are few tourists. I hang things on the shelves, but when it rains and is windy, I have to put them away for fear of getting wet. There are days when I only make a profit of a few tens of thousands of dong," said Ms. Lan.
To further understand the situation, a vendor at Ninh Kieu night market said: "Everyone is happy that the market is open again, but because it was closed for a long time, when it reopened, we lost regular customers.
Before the market was temporarily closed, I had just imported a shipment worth nearly 20 million VND, and had to store it in the warehouse because of the backlog. Since the market reopened about 2 months ago, the continuous rain and wind have left the remaining goods in the warehouse. I have to post online and sell directly to hope to recover my capital soon."
Hope for improvement
In the last months of the year, traders expect business at Ninh Kieu Night Market to improve, with favorable weather conditions for favorable business.
"Thanks to the night market, where tourists and locals come to visit and shop, I have some income. I hope that from now until the end of the year, the weather will be stable and there will be more tourists so that business will be more prosperous," said Ms. Lan.
It is known that Ninh Kieu Night Market is one of the contents of the implementation of the Night-time Economic Development Project approved by Can Tho City People's Committee, piloted in Ninh Kieu district.
The pilot model implementation plan by Ninh Kieu District People's Committee includes the following contents: Continuing to maintain and improve the quality of activities; at the same time allowing to expand the operating time frame from 6pm the previous night to 6am the next morning for existing activities such as street vendors on Phan Chu Trinh - Phan Boi Chau street; Ninh Kieu night market on Vo Van Tan - Nguyen Thai Hoc street...
The project is expected to contribute to job creation, increase income and contribute to the city's economic growth, develop the city into a tourist center of the Mekong Delta region; raise social awareness of night-time economic development...
Previously, due to the lack of agreement in the transfer between the old and new investors and some complaints about the facilities, at the end of May 2024, the People's Committee of Ninh Kieu District issued an official dispatch requesting the old investor to stop operating Ninh Kieu Night Market to resolve the problems between the relevant parties.
On September 19, 2024, speaking with Lao Dong, a representative of the Department of Culture and Information of Ninh Kieu district said: Ninh Kieu night market has been operating again since August, up to now, the units have implemented plans to remove the problems.
