District 9 has about 127 private, unlicensed container and truck yards, mostly located along Hoang Huu Nam, Tang Nhon Phu and other streets, according to District 9 People’s Committee.

Tran Khoa Nam, a resident in District 9, said the Hoang Huu Nam yard was recently upgraded, but many heavy vehicles travelling in the area had damaged the roads, increasing the chances of accidents.

Phu Huu Ward has about 29 container and truck yards, according to the District 9 People’s Committee. Most yards are located on locals’ agricultural land rented to businesses.

While some yards have no operation licence, other yards have registered their licences under another address.

A representative of a transport company in District 9 said that his company rented an unlicensed container and truck yard and that many large vehicles were attracted to the yards in the area. But his company
had no choice as the demand for container yards is high, and there were few legal ones.

Some truck drivers had been seen parking vehicles on main streets because container and truck yards nearby were full, he said.

The parking has interfered with traffic flow on the narrow Street 990 in District 9.

“It’s very dangerous when two trucks travel in the opposite direction on a six- to eight-metre wide road,” Nguyen Huu Phong, a resident in District 9, said.

Meanwhile, in District 2, private, unlicensed container and truck yards are located on Nguyen Duy Trinh and Nguyen Thi Dinh streets, sparking concern among local residents afraid to walk the streets at night
because of traffic.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Truc, a resident in District 2, said that at least 100 heavy trucks travelled on seven to eight-metre wide streets in District 2 every day.

Tran Quang Lam, director of the city’s Department of Transport, said the city was building one more container and truck yard in Thu Duc District’s Linh Trung Ward, expected to open soon.

For the long term, the city will develop more truck yards in Cu Chi District to solve the problem. The city also has policies to pay for the interest rate on loans for firms that want to build truck yards. — VNS