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pointed out by Mr. LEE, is rooted in the Department's commitment when resiting hawkers. That commitment was made the foundation of planning standards and our aim was not to focus on the viability of markets. In fact, I am convinced that markets should not be built to resite hawkers, but to provide viability of business. Overall planning should be done to take account of district planning. If a market cannot get down to business for not being viable, we are wasting public money.
In the past, there were a lot of factors pointed out in support of markets not being viable. One factor is competition from outside the markets. Unlicensed hawkers in front of stalls, illegal hawking carried out by neighbours, the design of markets, market management etc. affect the competitiveness and viability of markets. I think it is important to conduct a market survey before proposing to construct a market. A survey will cost some money, but it can be looked at as a sort of insurance to prevent failure from devising a plan voted down by traders as well as members of the public.
I support that the Department should make a comprehensive review of public markets already approved or under planning. A new set of planning standards should be devised. When we plan in future, we should take feasibility studies to strike a balance between supply and demand. In this way, shoppers can have their needs satisfied, traders can survive and markets can operate fully. By then, our citizens will get the use of economically viable markets and the construction of markets will not be wasted. I have so spoken in support of the motion.
Mr. Daniel To Boon-man (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, whether markets are viable depend on a lot of factors. My colleagues have just mentioned some of them. Accessibility, siting and convenience are all very important factors. I must point out that some old markets are not viable because of the sites allocated by the Lands Department in the past. So of the 19% of market stalls found not viable for business, many fall within this category and the Department should not be blamed.
Another thing is whether the price of commodities is attractive. From the point of market traders, business is important. If stalls are viable for business, traders will compete for them and bid at higher prices. So all these factors are inter-related. As of now, we must look into citizens' shopping modes as the modes differ from district to district and they are related to the income and education standard of the people. Any large department store planning to be operated somewhere will inevitably conduct a market survey. Money spent on this is worth it. It ensures business income in future.
Another thing I want to point out is to do with competitors. We of course see competition from licensed and unlicensed traders in markets. In fact, the real competitors may be enterprises, modern superstores and supermarkets. They pose new competition in the form of Super Market, Super Sport, Haipo
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