From October 15, non-stop toll collection will be implemented at BOT stations on National Highway 1.

The Vietnam Road Administration said that from October 15, 27 BOT toll stations on National Highway 1 and Ho Chi Minh Road through the Central Highlands will start collecting non-stop tolls, aiming to make toll revenue sources transparent and create favorable conditions for vehicles to circulate smoothly.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Huyen, as of August 31, out of a total of 27 stations negotiating to sign contracts with investors to build non-stop stations VETC, 25 stations have completed signing contracts, while two investors will have to complete the contracts before the above deadline.

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Decision No. 4390 of the Ministry of Transport approved the non-stop automatic toll collection project (phase 1) applied to 27 BOT toll stations on Ho Chi Minh road through the Central Highlands and National Highway 1, the TASCO - VETC joint venture was appointed by the Ministry of Transport as the investor, with a total investment of over 1,500 billion VND, under the form of a BOO contract (Build - Own - Operate). This investor is allowed to recover capital within 20 years (as planned in the contract) according to the toll collection period of BOT projects.

In recent times, the progress of installing and putting into operation these non-stop toll stations has been delayed many times. This fact is also one of the reasons causing traffic congestion at the stations, making it difficult to clarify the source of tolls, causing public outrage.

Therefore, according to Mr. Nguyen Van Huyen, the Vietnam Road Administration has asked investors to monitor the progress every day and every week, so that by September 30, all stations will be in commercial operation, after a month of testing, and officially put into operation by October 15.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Huyen, the non-stop toll stations agree on a 5-year contract term. The contract will include a 6-month or 1-year contract clause to evaluate the service performance of the VETC investor. When starting operation, all data will be connected to the monitoring center of the Vietnam Road Administration and closely monitored, so investors do not have to worry about whether BOT toll collection is transparent or not.

“Non-stop toll collection will be one of the bases for people to trust the transparency and openness of BOT toll collection,” Mr. Nguyen Van Huyen affirmed.

Dang Son/baotintuc