Decision to reduce more than 92 years of toll collection at BOT stations

The Ministry of Transport has just decided to reduce the toll collection period by 92 years and 3 months for 13 BOT projects and increase the toll collection period by 24 years and 5 months for 4 BOT projects.

Projects adjusted and reduced include: Strengthening the road surface of National Highway 1 (QL1) Phan Thiet - Dong Nai section; QL10 section from Tan De bridge to La Uyen bridge, Km92+900 - Km98+400; new Dong Nai bridge and the route at both ends of the bridge; BOT QL51; Dach Mieu bridge; Ho Chi Minh road section Km1793+600 - Km1824+00 (Dak Nong); QL1 section avoiding Vinh city (Nghe An); renovating and upgrading QL1; expanding QL1 section Km1062 - Km1092 (Quang Ngai) and Duc Pho bypass; Component 1 - investment project to build Co Chien bridge, QL60 (Tra Vinh and Ben Tre); QL1 section avoiding Bien Hoa city (Dong Nai); QL1 section avoiding Thanh Hoa city; road tunnel through Deo Ngang.

Among these, the National Highway 1 project avoiding Bien Hoa City (Dong Nai) has the lowest toll reduction time after final settlement of 4 months, the National Highway 1 project avoiding Thanh Hoa City has a reduction of 20 years and 1 month.

To date, the Ministry of Transport has adjusted the contracts of 21 BOT projects after reaching an agreement to partially or completely settle the construction phase, including 19 road projects and 2 maritime projects. The information is published on the official website of the Ministry of Transport on public-private investment: http://ppp.mt.gov.vn.

According to Mr. Vu Tuan Anh, Deputy Director of the Public-Private Partnership Department - PPP, the adjustment to reduce the toll collection time of projects compared to the BOT contract is mainly due to the reduced settlement agreement (approval) value compared to the initially approved total investment and the fluctuation of current traffic volume.

According to Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree 112/2009 of the Government, the total investment in construction of a project is the estimated cost of the project, serving as the basis for the investor to plan and manage capital to implement the project investment.

After the project is finalized, the Ministry of Transport will update the parameters and recalculate the toll collection time to sign with the investor as a basis for toll collection later. The decrease in total investment after finalization, along with updating the actual traffic flow, related financial parameters... will change the toll collection time compared to the investor's previous estimate.

Through research, the Ministry of Transport has reviewed BOT projects in accordance with the procedures prescribed by law and BOT contracts on the principle of independent audit or State audit and inspection agencies, then took the final value to settle the project, recalculate the contract and toll collection time. During the exploitation process, the Ministry of Transport will review revenue and traffic volume as a basis for adjusting each BOT contract until the end of the project life cycle. Therefore, reducing the toll collection time compared to the original estimate is transparent.

After the final settlement, the Ministry of Transport also decided that 4 projects must extend the toll collection period, including: My Loi Bridge, National Highway 50, extended by a maximum of 16 years and 2 months (from 28 years and 4 months to 44 years and 6 months); Yen Lenh Bridge project, National Highway 38, extended by 4 years and 3 months (from 17 years and 1 month to 21 years and 4 months); National Highway 18 project, Uong Bi - Ha Long section, extended by 3 years (from 16 years and 4 months to 19 years and 4 months); National Highway 1 project, Nam Ben Thuy - Ha Tinh City section, extended by 1 year (from 20 years and 5 months to 21 years and 5 months).

The reason for the extension of the toll collection period for these four projects is that traffic volume has decreased compared to forecasts and actual revenue is much lower than the financial plan in the BOT contract, especially the My Loi Bridge BOT project and the Yen Lenh Bridge BOT project, National Highway 38. This is a risk that investors need to consider and evaluate before signing a contract with a competent state agency.

» More than 10,000 free cards have been issued to cross Ben Thuy bridge

According to Dang Son/baotintuc