Saigon's transport department has unveiled a plan to increase fees on businesses which use city sidewalks for commercial purposes.
VnExpress reports that the department wants to charge sidewalk businesses VND20,000-100,000 per square meter per month. The highest fees would be for locations in central District 1.
Meanwhile car parking fees under the proposal would range from VND20,000-25,000 during the day and VND40,000-50,000 at night.
The current monthly fee for sidewalk businesses is VND12,000 per square meter, while parking spots cost VND5,000.
According to the news source, the department wants to implement these new fees in order to meet demand for sidewalk usage while also bringing in additional income for infrastructure upgrades.
The plan was released at a time when Saigon's sidewalk-clearing campaign had stalled. In fact, VnExpress shares that the transport department's proposal makes no mention of the controversial effort.
Tuoi Tre adds that the department is currently collecting feedback of the plan from local businesses and residents and will eventually submit it to the city People's Committee for approval.
Several experts have weighed in with their support for the proposal, though they note that it needs to be carried out in a transparent way. Pham Sang, a traffic specialist, told the news source: "The process should be carried out by the city's financial sector with technical assistance from the Department of Transport."
He believes this would prevent district- or ward-level authorities from improperly handling sidewalk rental and parking fees.
[Photo via Tuoi Tre]
