Inadequacies in planning markets and commercial centers

(Baonghean) - In addition to economic development, traditional markets are also places for cultural exchange and preservation of national identity. While in the mountainous areas, some markets are not effectively exploited after investment, in the lowlands, the recent development of commercial centers and supermarkets has led to waste in investment.

Walking around Big C, Metro supermarkets... in Vinh City on a weekday, clothes, refrigeration, household appliances are piled up, but buyers are quite sparse. At some shopping centers in Thanh Chuong, Dien Chau... not only are there no customers but the counters and booths are also closed. But at some locations such as: behind Big C supermarket, on the first floor of the Petroleum Building, near Kenh Bac bridge, street vendors selling clothes still attract a lot of customers, especially young people. The answer here is: price. Cheap, trendy, suitable for many consumers will still sell. Meanwhile, a stall in Vinh market costs about 5 - 6 billion VND, some stalls cost 8 - 9 billion VND, so the price there certainly cannot compete with similar items that the seller does not pay for the space. Pretending to be someone who needs a stall, we asked about the price of a stall at Vinh market and were told by Ms. Ha - a small trader that if we wanted a good location, we would need billions of dong. If we wanted to rent it to sell, the rent would be 800 thousand dong - 2 million dong/month.

Up to now, Vinh City has 25 markets, including 2 class 1 markets (Vinh Market and Ga Market), 14 class 3 markets and 6 temporary markets. Along with the market network, the area has Big C supermarket attached to the commercial complex, housing and office for rent Vicentra at Vinh Market intersection; Metro supermarket, Intimex 1 supermarket in Trung Do ward, Intimex 2 supermarket on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh street, Maximax on Nguyen Thai Hoc street... The planning, formation and development of commercial centers and supermarkets in recent years have met the shopping needs of people in a civilized and modern direction; in line with the trend of urban economic development. However, managers need to see that there are too many supermarkets, not to mention dozens of commercial centers in the city that have been licensed but have not been invested in construction. In 2013, the city continued to review, supplement and include in the Master Plan for the distribution network of goods in Nghe An province until 2020 for markets and commercial centers. Accordingly, the city continued to call for and attract investment in building a system of commercial centers and supermarkets that have been approved according to the plan: Vinh Market Crossroads Commercial Center, Hung Phuc Ward Commercial Center, Commercial Center combined with traditional market at Quan Lau Market, Ga Crossroads Commercial Center, and a system of supermarkets associated with the planning of new urban area projects in the city.

For example, in Dien Chau, there are also 11 supermarkets. Lai Chau Private Construction Enterprise No. 1 has invested in a hotel area, a commercial center and a temporary market to replace the previous Phu Dien market. In the planning, this unit will set aside 2,000m2 of land to invest in building the Green Market, but for some reason, in the end, there is only 1,000m2 left, so it is only enough to arrange for a few food stalls. Mr. Le Quang Canh - a trader at the market said: This market is to replace the previous Phu Dien market, but when it was built, the area for the Green Market was too small, only enough for a few food businesses to sit, while people at the So market (temporary market) refused to go to the market because they were afraid they would not be able to sell their goods, so they still sat and sold on the street. While the market was redundant, Dien Thanh built another Phu Dien market, so all the traders went there to do business, leaving this market as deserted as a "monk's temple". When entering the market, everyone hopes that the market will sell all kinds of goods, but because the planning of this market is unreasonable, buyers do not want to enter, as a result, our business is increasingly losing money.

Thanh Chuong shopping center is not yet in operation.

It is known that on November 28, 2008, the Provincial People's Committee issued Notice No. 378/TB-UBND assigning the Dien Chau District People's Committee to rebuild Phu Dien Market (replacing the old Phu Dien Market, Lai Chau Private Construction Enterprise No. 1 invested in a commercial center). On September 23, 2010, the Dien Chau District Party Committee issued Notice No. 18-TB/HU, agreeing in principle to build Phu Dien Central Market in Dien Thanh Commune. On October 9, 2013, Dien Chau District conducted acceptance and put the district central market in Dien Thanh into operation. The district central market was called to replace the previous Phu Dien Market, but because it is located in Dien Thanh Commune, it is mainly operated by Dien Thanh Commune's traders. The town's traders strongly opposed and demanded that the town also have a market. On December 5, 2013, the Dien Chau District People's Committee responded to the results of handling citizens' petitions requesting that the town must have a market. Accordingly, the District People's Committee assigned: The Town People's Committee to review the land fund, survey the location and prepare documents and procedures to submit to competent authorities for consideration according to the provisions of law. So, not only is another commercial center being built to replace the old Phu Dien market (currently deserted), Dien Chau is also tending to have to build another town market, even though there is a new Phu Dien market.

Although the Department of Industry and Trade has stated that, the reality is that there are many supermarkets and shopping centers but they are not enough. Our province is lacking large, classy shopping centers that meet the needs of all classes of people; at the same time, we need to pay attention to the quality, variety of goods, prices, etc. Some supermarkets and shopping centers in the province have not been operating effectively, causing waste of resources of enterprises and society; the planning of markets and supermarkets in residential areas is not reasonable, not bringing real convenience and saving shopping time for consumers. The organizational model of supermarkets is mainly organized by enterprises themselves, supermarkets operate individually, separately, lacking coordination and connection with each other and with suppliers, etc. to create a complete supply chain. Planning management has not been given attention, mainly individuals and businesses spontaneously build or renovate from stores and houses on existing business locations.

Between the two types of traditional markets and commercial centers, how to balance, plan and arrange to balance the needs of modern goods exchange and traditional market development is a problem for managers in many localities.

(To be continued)

Chau Lan - Ngoc Anh