Building warehouses and yards for durian crop: Many hidden worries (Part 1)

08:33, August 28, 2023

The durian harvest season in the province in general, and the “capital” of Krong Pac in particular, is entering its peak, with many durian purchasing warehouses springing up everywhere. However, the situation also poses many risks and worries when the warehouses are built everywhere and do not comply with construction regulations.

Part 1: All kinds of violations of construction order

In recent days, many durian purchasing warehouses have sprung up along Highway 26. It is worth mentioning that, for immediate profits, many households have cut down crops, demolished shops, cleared land to build warehouses or rented land to businesses to build warehouses on agricultural land, or even built without permission...

Bustling construction of agricultural product purchasing warehouse

From the center of Buon Ma Thuot City, following National Highway 26 to Krong Pac District through the communes of Hoa Dong, Ea Knuec, Ea Kenh, Ea Yong, etc., many industrial orchards have been cleared and replaced with brand new durian purchasing warehouses. Signs "Durian purchasing warehouse for rent" have also sprung up everywhere, ranging in size from several hundred to several thousand square meters. The common characteristics of durian purchasing warehouses and agricultural product purchasing warehouses are flat foundations, solid walls about 1 meter high, then erected with corrugated iron sheets, iron pillars, with full auxiliary works, electricity and water systems to serve the workers' daily life.

A durian warehouse under construction in Ea Kenh commune violated construction order and was fined by the People's Committee of Krong Pac district.

As one of the localities with a large durian growing area of 700 hectares in Krong Pac district, and in a favorable location, the construction of purchasing warehouses in Ea Kenh commune is quite busy. According to local statistics, the whole commune currently has 41 durian purchasing warehouses built since 2015 along the national highway, of which this year's crop has up to 14 newly built warehouses. Right in the central area of the commune, a series of constructions have just been completed, some facilities are still filled with flowers congratulating the opening. In addition, many facilities are mobilizing workers, machinery and equipment to urgently construct purchasing warehouse items to put into operation in time for this year's durian season.

Similarly, in Ea Knuec commune, according to local government statistics, the whole commune currently has 21 warehouses; of which, 12 were newly built this year. Upon inspection, most of the warehouses violated construction order as prescribed.

Along with the construction situation, advertisements for renting warehouse space for purchasing agricultural products also appear frequently on social networking sites such as Facebook and Zalo with many prices depending on the area and area.

A warehouse for purchasing durian for export of a newly built enterprise in this year's crop season in Ea Kenh commune.

According to research, the profit from renting warehouses is quite high. In addition to renting vacant land, many families have renovated their houses and shops to create spacious areas for businesses and traders to rent as a gathering and transit point for durian to the provinces with rental prices ranging from 200 million VND to about 1 billion VND per crop season depending on the area of the premises. Among them, some households have renovated mini soccer fields, some have cut down trees or converted premises that are currently trading in food and drinks into warehouses for rent.

Challenges for management

Building warehouses to meet the demand for purchasing and gathering agricultural products in general, and durian in particular, is a legitimate need of organizations and individuals. However, the existence of illegal constructions is a challenge for local authorities and specialized agencies in the management of construction order.

Actual inspections show that, even though units and individuals know the regulations when building warehouses, for profit they still deliberately ignore them, do not change the land use purpose, do not apply for a construction permit until the government inspects and then start to apply for a permit, change the land use purpose...

Vice Chairman of Ea Kenh Y Prung Eban Commune People's Committee

According to research in localities in Krong Pac district, many warehouses violate regulations on construction order such as: no license, building beyond the licensed area; building on agricultural land and encroaching on road corridor land. For example, the case of Mr. BMĐ. (residing in Ea Yong commune) built a warehouse on his family's agricultural land in Ea Kenh commune with a total area of 600 m2, and was recorded by the local authorities and issued a decision to impose an administrative penalty. Or HTPTG Import-Export One Member Co., Ltd. ( Tien Giang province) rented land from a household in Ea Kenh commune to build a warehouse to collect durian before bringing it to Tien Giang province for processing and export. Although the residential land area is only 70 m2, the unit built a warehouse and an operating area on all the rented land area.

According to the explanation of the Company representative, due to the need for a durian collection point, before entering this year's crop season, the unit rented land from a household to build a factory and an operating area with a total area of over 1,500 m2 and a cost of 2.5 billion VND/12 years; at the same time, invested more than 2 billion VND to build a warehouse and purchase equipment. Currently, the unit imports an average of 15 - 20 tons of durian per day. After being fined, the unit is completing the documents to apply for a temporary construction permit during the land lease period.

Similarly, HH Import Export Company Limited ( Dong Nai province) also rented land to build a warehouse and a durian gathering house with a total built area of nearly 2,000 m2, while the construction permit granted to the unit was only allowed to be built on an area of 400 m2 of residential land.

A durian warehouse under construction encroaches on the road corridor in Ea Knuec commune.

In Ea Knuec commune, through inspection work, local authorities discovered many cases of building warehouses for gathering durians in violation of regulations. For example, Mr. T.Th.T.'s household (Tan Hung village) is building a warehouse on his family's land plots with a total area of 665 m2 but without a construction permit; at the same time, the construction work has also encroached, violating regulations on traffic safety corridors with a total area of over 80 m2. As for Mrs. NTKD's household (Tan Hung village), it also violated construction order when the granted permit only allowed the construction of a warehouse with an area of 175 m2; but in reality, the family has built with a total area of over 800 m2 (of which 126 m2 violated the road corridor and 518 m2 was built on agricultural land).

(To be continued)

Part 2: Economic development must not neglect construction management

Thuy Hong - Hoang Tuyet

Source