Don't let vested interests spoil the weekend market

Amid the wrangling over which agency should manage Bangkok’s famous Chatuchak Market, the Cabinet yesterday acknowledged a proposal from the Transport Ministry to let the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) operate the market, which has been developed by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) for more than 30 years.

The Transport Ministry pushed this proposal to the Cabinet after the BMA was reluctant to accept a rental hike on the market from the current Bt24 million to Bt100 million, as demanded by the ministry.

As of press time, the BMA has yet to make any comment about the latest development. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if the wrangling over the management of the highly profitable weekend market will spill over into another political conflict between the Pheu Thai Party, which oversees the Transport Ministry, and the Democrat-controlled BMA.

Being a big attraction for both local people and overseas tourists, bustling Chatuchak Market is estimated to earn several million baht in turnover each month, as hundreds of thousands of shoppers visit it each weekend.

The rental fees that the BMA collects from the market’s tenants are quite low when compared to the turnover that the vendors can earn from local and international shoppers. However, it is no secret that although the official rental fees at Chatuchak are only Bt142 per square metre, the actual rental fee is several dozen times higher because a majority of the market’s stalls are illegally sub-leased. 

As a result, the state has been denied that extra income because the transactions are done without proper documentation from the BMA. Sub-lease brokers have reaped profits without sharing it with the authorities who run the market. 

Although the market is popular with tourists and local shoppers alike, there is still room for developing and improving the management of the huge site. First of all, the rental collection system must brought under control and be further improved. Regarding the type of goods on sale, illegal items such as wild and protected animals should be strictly prohibited.

The proposed transfer of management to the SRT does not promise brighter prospects for the market either. The SRT’s track record is even worse than the BMA’s in terms of management efficiency and transparency. In fact, the BMA can claim some credit for renting this previously abandoned SRT plot of land near Chatuchak Park and developing it into the popular weekend attraction it has become.

Conversely, the debt-ridden SRT has failed to produce profits from its operations, even though it has many properties and a large number of personnel. Every government has to use taxpayers’ money to subsidise the entire SRT operation. Indeed, the SRT has suffered losses every year since it was turned into a state-owned enterprise under the Transport Ministry in 1951, and its debt has risen significantly. In addition, the SRT has a strong labour union that tends to resist change, as is evident in the Airport Link case, which is already running in the red.

Neither the SRT or the Transport Ministry has a clear plan to develop the market. So far, the ministry has only said that it plans to set up a company under the SRT to operate the market – which certainly does not offer any guarantee of the market’s future success.

The agency that will take over the management of the market will have to answer to the public if something goes badly wrong in the Chatuchak operation. After all, the market does not belong to any particular group of politicians but the public in general, who deserve to benefit from transparency and efficiency in the market’s operation.

The change of management should not come from politicians’ greed or political wrangling because control of the BMA could always go over to the Pheu Thai Party, should Pheu Thai candidates wins the Bangkok gubernatorial election next year. The transfer of management should be based on the merits of the contract plan and the wider potential of the market. Nobody should forget that the market has become a great tourist attraction for Thailand, known worldwide because of its vibrant atmosphere and diverse merchandise.