Some opinions support leasing sidewalks at 20,000-350,000 VND per square meter to fund urban beautification, but others worry that this will legalize encroachment.
On June 13, the Ho Chi Minh City Fatherland Front Committee held a conference to review the draft project to collect temporary fees for using roads and sidewalks developed by the Department of Transport.
According to the proposal, depending on the area, the fee for renting the roadway and sidewalk per square meter for parking is 50,000-350,000 VND per month. The rental price is 20,000-100,000 VND per square meter for business activities. It is expected that each year the revenue from temporary use of the roadway and sidewalk is about 1,522 billion VND. The entire amount will be paid into the budget for maintenance of the roadway and sidewalk.
The fee is applied according to each district group, including area 1 (districts 1, 3, 4, 5, 10, Phu Nhuan, area A of the new urban area of the South of the city, Thu Thiem new urban area); area 2 (old district 2 except Thu Thiem urban area, 6, 7 - except area A of the new urban area of the South of the city, 11, Binh Thanh, Tan Binh, Binh Tan); area 3 (district 9 and old Thu Duc, 8, 12, Tan Phu, Go Vap); area 4 (Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon, Nha Be, Cu Chi); area 5 (Can Gio).
| Area | Fees for activities, excluding parking (VND/m2/month) | Parking fee (VND/m2/month) | ||
| Center line | The remaining road | Center line | The remaining road | |
| 1 | 100,000 | 50,000 | 350,000 | 180,000 |
| 2 | 30,000 | 20,000 | 100,000 | 70,000 |
| 3 | 20,000 | 20,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 |
| 4 | 20,000 | 20,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 |
| 5 | 20,000 | 20,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 |
Lawyer Truong Thi Hoa (Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association) said that the project to collect fees for using sidewalks and roads built by the city's Department of Transport is in accordance with legal regulations. This revenue will help the transport sector have more funds to maintain and repair urban infrastructure.
According to Ms. Hoa, the current budget for road maintenance only meets 40% of the demand. Many roads managed by the People's Committees of districts and towns are severely damaged and do not have capital to repair, leading to traffic safety problems. When sidewalk fees are collected, the locality will have more funds for this.
Ms. Hoang Thi Loi, Vice President of the Ben Nghe Ward Front, District 1, also agrees with the policy of renting sidewalks and roads because of the huge demand. The draft fee is still quite low, not close to the market. With the rental price per square meter from 20,000 to 50,000 VND, if the area is 60 square meters, the user only has to pay 1.2-3 million VND per month. Meanwhile, people who park a motorbike for a few hours have to pay at least 5,000 VND, some places charge 15,000-20,000 VND.
"At this price, I also want to rent the sidewalk and the street to park my car because it's very profitable. Whose pocket does this difference go to? Signing a contract and then renting it out is also profitable," said Ms. Loi.
A pub on Hoang Sa Street, District 1, occupies the entire sidewalk to arrange tables and chairs for customers, February 2023. Photo: Gia Minh
Meanwhile, Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Sau, a front officer of Ward 17, Binh Thanh District, said that before attending the conference, she had consulted with businesses, people with street frontage and street vendors. 80% of respondents said that sidewalk and road leasing should not be implemented. Because sidewalks and roads being occupied will greatly affect people's travel. This goes against management work and the Road Traffic Law.
Ms. Sau cited the Road Traffic Law which stipulates that sidewalks and roadsides are only used for traffic purposes. If we raise the issue of charging for temporary use of sidewalks, roadsides and pavements, it will inadvertently encourage and create favorable conditions for people to do business here, which means legalizing encroachment on sidewalks and roadsides.
"This affects both traffic and aesthetics. The approval of this project should be reviewed and calculated more carefully," said Ms. Sau, adding that the collection of temporary road and sidewalk fees needs to be calculated, closely following reality and ensuring the harmony of interests of all parties.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Sau speaks at the conference. Photo: Quang Huy
Also expressing concern, Ms. Bui Dieu Tam, a front officer of Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, said that through a survey, up to 92% of businesses on Nguyen Binh Khiem Street park their motorbikes on the sidewalk. The shops occupy a one meter wide street, then add 1-2 rows of motorbikes, leaving pedestrians with no way to walk.
"When there is no fee, when they have paid the government, people will have no way to go," said Ms. Tam, adding that some localities have rented sidewalks and roads, but traffic is still chaotic and people have no way to walk.
Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport Tran Quang Lam said that the Government's Decree allows the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to regulate the temporary use of part of the roadway and sidewalk for other purposes and does not affect traffic order and safety. The project also uses the word "temporary" because the purpose of sidewalks and roads is still for people to travel.
According to Mr. Lam, when developing this project, the unit consulted with many experts, as well as learned from sidewalk and road management models of many large cities in and outside the country such as Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. "Sidewalk and road management is not simply about traffic but must also be consistent with urban culture," Mr. Lam said, adding that sidewalk leasing will be carefully calculated to reduce the impact on people and traffic.
Le Tuyet
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