HCMC – HCMC had seen 54 gas stations suspending operations by Sunday night, October 9, due to fuel supply shortfalls, according to a report by the HCMC market surveillance agency.
The report, which came out on Sunday following the agency’s inspections, said a majority of gas stations in HCMC were operating as normal but a certain number of gas stations were out of stock.
On the evening of October 9, there had been 54 gas stations in 13 districts of HCMC temporarily shut down, said the report. These stations said they had placed orders but their suppliers had neither responded nor confirmed delivery dates.
The HCMC Department of Industry and Trade, which oversees gas stations in the city, told the local media that there was some fuel undersupply in the city because several fuel importers had faced supply disruptions and transportation issues.
At rush hours, tank trucks are banned from entering inner-city areas, leading to tight fuel supplies for certain stations, Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, deputy director of the department, told Tuoi Tre Online.
Phuong said that most of the gas stations that had suspended their operations were run by small private businesses with no extensive fuel retail systems.
The department would announce the list of 500 gas stations that are still operational.
Last night, Petrolimex, the country’s largest fuel trading firm, reportedly mobilized up to 80 tank trucks to transport gasoline to the gas stations under its retail system to make up for the shortfalls faced by other fuel retailers.
