No free toll at Ben Thuy 1 Toll Station for vehicle owners in wards and communes newly merged into Vinh City

On January 17, the Vietnam Road Administration issued Official Dispatch No. 372/CDBVN-TC to Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces and Cienco4 Group regarding the proposal to reduce road service fees at Ben Thuy 1 Toll Station.

Accordingly, based on the report on the implementation of road service price reduction at Ben Thuy 1 Toll Station and the proposal of Cienco 4 Group, implementing the documents of the Ministry of Transport, the Vietnam Road Administration agreed not to implement road service price reduction at Ben Thuy 1 Toll Station for vehicles with permanent residence; organizations and enterprises with headquarters in 7 wards: Nghi Hai, Nghi Hoa, Nghi Huong, Nghi Thu, Nghi Thuy, Nghi Tan, Thu Thuy and 4 communes: Nghi Thai, Nghi Phong, Nghi Xuan, Phuc Tho newly merged into Vinh city.

Previously, people in 11 wards and communes newly merged into Vinh City from December 1, 2024 (including all wards of Cua Lo Town and 4 communes of Nghi Loc District) unanimously petitioned to enjoy the policy of fee exemption and reduction through Ben Thuy 1 Toll Station like the wards and communes of the old Vinh City and Hung Nguyen District, to ensure fairness.

However, later, Cienco4 Group sent a document requesting not to reduce the price for vehicle owners with permanent residence and headquarters in 11 wards and communes newly merged into Vinh City because it would reduce revenue, leading to the financial plan of the BOT project not being guaranteed, and the project enterprise losing financial balance. In addition, when merged into Vinh City, these wards and communes will not change the geographical distance from Ben Thuy 1 Toll Station.

Ben Thuy 1 Toll Station is the place where many people gathered to protest in 2017, because they thought that they did not use the Vinh City bypass but still had to pay the toll when crossing the bridge. Therefore, the authorities and the investor later agreed to reduce 100% of the toll at Ben Thuy 1 Toll Station for vehicle owners with permanent residence and headquarters in Vinh City, Hung Nguyen District (Nghe An Province) and Hong Linh Town, Nghi Xuan District (Ha Tinh Province), from April 24, 2017. Since then, there has been no new guidance document from the authorities on adjusting the subjects exempted from the toll at Ben Thuy 1 Toll Station.