Protest against relocation of used-car centre
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Business owners at the city's largest used-car mart, which is shared by more than 3,500 dealers, are planning to protest today against a plan to move it.
Min Ko Myint, chairman of a committee formed to oppose the move, said the decision to protest was made at a meeting on Sunday to ensure that the Hanthawady Brokerage Centre for Used Cars was not moved to a new location.
A letter objecting to the move has been sent to the authorities. Yangon’s mayor previously said the centre would be renovated not relocated. The mayor also said that cars and shops in the centre’s compound would not be moved during its renovation.
Committee secretary Hla Win, however, said shop owners had been ordered to move. “An order came out to move the centre to the old Thiri Mingalar Market in Ahlon Township. Why? It is contrary to the major’s promise,” he said.
“We don’t want to move. We have already asked Kamayut Township Police Station to grant a protest permit,” he added.
The privately owned market collects 1,000 kyats (Bt35) per car for parking fees, while the Hanthawady used-car brokerage centre collects only 200 kyats per car.
The brokerage centre lies on a plot in Kamayut Township owned by the Yangon City Development Committee, which reportedly offered a tender last year to private companies to open businesses on the plot. It did not release the results of the tender.
Hla Win also said the committee objected to the tender as it does not serve the public interest. More than 30,000 people use the brokerage centre.
