HANOI, (PNA/VNS) — The Industry and Trade Department is finalizing the process of possibly closing 45 petrol stations that do not meet standards in fire safety regulations. The implementation is scheduled to start on September 15.
This is the first definite move from the Department to deal with criticism about allowing unsafe petrol stations to operate in residential areas, following the fire at the 2B Tran Hung Dao Street petrol station in June, which lasted for several hours and injured a dozen people.
According to Nguyen Van Dong, the department met with representatives of the 45 petrol stations recently and a list of the petrol stations that could be closed has been submitted to the Hanoi People’s Committee for final approval.
“They will obviously have their business licenses revoked,” Dong said. “But we’re still waiting for the final say from the people’s committee to have a definite answer.”
According to Dong, the meeting between the department and representatives from the 45 petrol stations was for the purpose of hearing the concerns of the businesses.
One of the issues was regarding the employment of petrol station workers, Dong said the businesses must be responsible for removing them to other positions.
The department has also asked the Hanoi People’s Committee to reassess the development plan for petrol stations to ensure the residents’ demand for petrol is met.
In June, the department also investigated 52 petrol stations in 10 urban districts and identified 15 petrol stations that do not meet regulations in fire prevention and are located near crowded residential areas.
Under fire-fighting regulations, all petrol stations are required to meet certain requirements, including being equipped with fire extinguishers, having fire-fighting forces as well as fire-fighting plans.