An increasing number of roadside petrol sellers have appeared along several streets in Thu Duc City and Go Vap District in Ho Chi Minh City, posing risk of fire and explosion.

Along a two-kilometer section of Mai Chi Tho Boulevard in Thu Duc City, there were more than 10 makeshift ‘filling stations,’ according to the observation of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters on Saturday.

Most of the sellers were street vendors who happened to also offer petrol.

The gasoline was stored in multiple plastic canisters, each about one to two liters.

The canisters were placed on plastic chairs and tables or on bricks to attract the attention of commuters.

Some sellers even set up a sign to let people know that they were selling petrol.

A similar situation was recorded along Pham Van Dong Boulevard in Go Vap District.

Aside from street vendors, some motorbike repairmen also sold gasoline to their customers.

At a makeshift ‘filling station’ on Mai Chi Tho Boulevard, the seller offered a two-liter canister of RON95 fuel at VND60,000 (US$2.4).

He also agreed if customers wanted to buy in smaller quantities.

A liter of RON95 fuel currently sells at VND22,750 (0.9), according to prices set by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Dung, a resident in Thu Duc City whose motorbike ran out of gasoline, said he had no other choice but to buy gasoline from a street seller.

“My motorbike is old and the gas gauge does not work anymore, so I cannot know when it runs out of fuel,” Dung said.

“It is very sunny and the filling station is quite far away.”

This situation was recorded in Hanoi earlier this week.

As local residents have been having a hard time buying gasoline at local filling stations, roadside gasoline sale has become increasingly common in the two cities, posing a high risk of fire and explosion.

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