Three scenarios to solve Cai Lay BOT by the Ministry of Transport

Offering three solutions to solve Cai Lay BOT, the leader of the Ministry of Transport stated that moving the station is not feasible.

On the morning of December 5, providing information to the press, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong said that in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc yesterday afternoon, the Ministry proposed three scenarios to solve the Cai Lay BOT problem (Tien Giang).

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong. Photo: HT

Scenario 1, toll booths remain in their current locations, but with increased mobility, improved toll collection, and responsiveness to road users. For example, there is a place for drivers to stop when they have questions and their questions are explained.

The second scenario is to move the toll station to the bypass as requested, which means breaking the old financial plan and recalculating. According to Mr. Dong, this scenario must be negotiated with the investor because it is related to the toll collection time.

"According to calculations, this option is not feasible because the payback period is not as committed in the loan agreement, affecting the bank's bad debt," said Mr. Dong.

As for the third scenario, the Ministry proposed to set up two toll stations, one on the old national highway to collect fees for the part that investors invested in the national highway; one on the bypass to collect fees for the part that investors invested in building this route.

"After hearing the report, the Prime Minister requested to stop collecting fees for one month to review the whole situation and report to the Government Standing Committee," Mr. Dong informed..

"If compensation is given to investors, it will create a burden on the budget"

Deputy Minister Nguyen Ngoc Dong said that if Cai Lay BOT tolls are adjusted or not collected, the state must compensate investors about 1,398 billion VND, of which the investment on National Highway 1 is 380 billion VND, and the bypass is about 1,100 billion VND.

"We don't have money, so mobilizing investment, but now the state has to balance that money, is extremely difficult and creates a burden on the budget. Moreover, the"The authorities who inspected and audited Cai Lay BOT all confirmed compliance with legal regulations," said Mr. Dong.

Driver asked for 100 VND change at Cai Lay BOT station. Photo: Thanh Nguyen

According to the Deputy Minister of Transport, the whole country currently has6 BOT stations similar to Cai Lay. However, after persistent explanations and the involvement of authorities, people agreed at stations such as Ben Thuy (Nghe An), Dong Nai...; state management agencies reduced fees and exempted fees for people living around the stations.

Cai Lay BOT toll station is part of the Cai Lay town bypass BOT project and the maintenance and enhancement of National Highway 1, which started in 2014. Of which, the newly invested bypass section is 12 km long, with 7 new bridges; the repaired section of National Highway 1 is 26.5 km long.

The toll station opened on August 1. However, many drivers later used small change to buy tickets to protest the station's wrong location. The incident caused serious congestion at the station for many days. On August 15, the investor released the station.

On the morning of November 30, the toll station returned. The fare for each trip for all types of vehicles was reduced by 30%, the lowest being 25,000 VND, the highest 140,000 VND. However, in the past 5 days, there have been 24 times when the station collected and then released the fee due to the reaction of drivers. They gave 25,100 VND in small bills, asked for 100 VND in change, or gave large denomination bills to pay the fee.

According to VNE