Bangkok opens first free space for street hawkers in project to tidy city
Bangkok kicked off a project to offer space free of charge for hawkers and street vendors in the heart of the city on Wednesday, clearing cluttered pavements.
City governor Chadchart Sittipunt presided over the launch of the “Hello Hab-Re” (Hello Hawkers) project outside Samyan Mitrtown on Rama IV Road.
The project will reorganise hawkers and street vendors in the city by allocating suitable areas that do not block public footpaths. The operator of Samyan Mitrtown, a mixed-use shopping complex, has agreed to provide space next to its building in Soi Chula 42 for registered vendors to use for free from Monday to Friday, 8am-2pm and 3pm-8pm.
Chadchart thanked Samyan Mitrtown for providing the space, saying it would increase shopping opportunities, promote small entrepreneurs, and help tidy up the city. He said he hoped more private-property owners would join the project in the future.
“The project does not require the city to invest in building more space for street vendors but instead promotes the use of existing space to the fullest,” said Chadchart.
“If all parties work together, I believe Bangkok has enough space for everyone. We must learn to share to make the city more liveable.”
The governor said that all vendors joining the “Hello Hab-Re” project at Samyan Mitrtown had passed food and sanitary standards of the Pathumwan District Office.
