Fences set up for crowd control at HCMC gas stations

A gas station on To Ky Road in District 12 saw hundreds of cars and motorbikes waiting in the morning, with most queuing over 30 minutes. Only two out of five pumps were operating as the station ran out of fuel.

Metal fences were set up to keep the crowd organized with only three motorbikes allowed to approach the pumps at a time.

“We have to set up barriers to prevent people from jostling like in the last two days,” an employee who asked not be identified said.

In Binh Thanh District, a station sets up chairs and metal bars to keep the crowd organized.

Many stations limit fuel purchases to VND20,000 ($0.84) at most due to the shortage. The limit was VND30,000 Monday.

At the intersection of Nguyen Chi Thanh and Ngo Quyen in District 5, people started queuing since early morning and by 10 a.m. The lines had extended out onto the road.

Militia members were mobilized to keep the traffic flowing.

Some customers bought cans and bottles with them to buy extra fuel but were rejected by station staff. This station sold nearly 30,000 liters a day in the last three, up 36% from the average.

At around 12 p.m. traffic jams were recorded on Nguyen Chi Thanh Road as queues grew longer.

On Kha Van Can Road in Thu Duc City, chairs and wooden sticks were used to keep queues organized.

Since Monday afternoon, at least 121 gas stations in HCMC (out of the total 550) were running out of gasoline amid lagging deliveries.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that suppliers are trying hard to increase delivery to retailers.

Retail chain Comeco with 52 outlets, which has reported shortages recently, received 110 cubic meters of fuel on Sunday and will receive 150 cubic meters more Tuesday. In the next few days, the chain will receive another 1,000 cubic meters, the ministry said.

It also requested a supplier to send 350 cubic meters of fuel to Can Gio retail chain, which has 53 outlets in HCMC.

Recently, 36 retailers in HCMC complained about "problematic" management of fuel retail prices by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Finance, saying they were kept so low that businesses were losing money on every liter of gasoline sold.'

Some suppliers said importing has become difficult, while others said the recent Storm Noru has affected transportation.