According to the traders, they are mostly locals who had given up their farms to build the market and have been trading here some twenty years.
On October 13 the market's board of directors held a discussion about the plans, in which they told traders that they would have to move out of the market to a temporary market built along Nguyen Hong Street by the end of the year. The traders are strongly opposed to this plan.
On the morning of October 14, machines, jackhammers started working near the meat stalls. In response, hundreds of traders demanded that the work be stopped and the workers leave the market area.
"There has been no official meeting or announcement concerning the building of a trade centre," said one trader.
The investor for this project is the same which invested in turning Trung Hoa Market in Cau Giay District to a trade centre, offices and luxury homes.
According to Tran Thi Phuong Lan, deputy director of Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, there are now five trade centres which have been upgraded from traditional markets in the city.
However, these facilities do not attract many customers or traders. Prices at the trade centre are considerable higher than the prices at markets. There have also been many complaints about parking at the facility.
