Tolls will be collected on the Nghi Son - Dien Chau expressway and other expressway projects invested in by the State.
The new Road Law, recently passed by the National Assembly, allows the State to collect tolls for the use of expressways by vehicles traveling on expressways that are invested in, owned, managed, and operated by the State.
On the morning of June 27th, at the 7th session of the 15th National Assembly, the Road Law was passed, comprising 6 chapters and 86 articles regulating road activities and state management of road activities.
Specifically, Article 50 on expressway usage fees stipulates that the State collects expressway usage fees from vehicles traveling on expressways invested in, owned, managed, and operated by the State, including:
Highways are invested in by the State through public investment. Highways invested in under other forms are transferred back to the State upon completion of the contract.
Regarding the management and use of revenue from highway tolls, the Road Law stipulates:
The road management agency directly responsible for managing the assets shall remit the collected fees to the State budget in accordance with the law on fees and charges.
The franchisee collects fees and manages the franchise operation by paying the franchise fee as stipulated into the state budget. Fees collected during the franchise agreement period are not required to be paid into the state budget, except for the portion of revenue that must be shared with the state as prescribed by law.
The Road Traffic Law will come into effect on January 1, 2025; however, some articles and clauses will come into effect earlier, including Article 50, which will take effect from October 1, 2024.
Until now, toll collection on expressways has only been implemented for sections invested under the public-private partnership (PPP) model; projects funded by the State are exempt from tolls.
Thus, the newly enacted Road Law provides the legal basis for collecting tolls on expressways for vehicles traveling on expressways invested in, owned, managed, and operated by the State, such as Cao Bo - Mai Son, Mai Son - National Highway 45, National Highway 45 - Nghi Son, etc., which have been put into operation but have not yet collected tolls due to the lack of legal regulations.
In Nghe An province, there are two sections of the North-South Expressway (Eastern section) passing through the area: the Nghi Son - Dien Chau section and the Dien Chau - Bai Vot section, which are being invested in using two different methods.
Specifically, the Nghi Son - Dien Chau section, spanning 50 km (6.5 km in Thanh Hoa and 43.5 km in Nghe An), has a total investment of 7,293 billion VND from the State budget. Therefore, from its temporary opening on September 1, 2023, to its official inauguration on October 18, 2023, it was toll-free. However, with the enactment of the Road Law, vehicles traveling on this section of the expressway will be subject to tolls in the future.
The Dien Chau - Bai Vot section, with a total length of 49.3 km (44.4 km in Nghe An and 4.9 km in Ha Tinh), is being implemented under a public-private partnership (PPP) contract with a total investment of nearly 11,158 billion VND (over 5,090 billion VND from investors; nearly 6,068 billion VND from the State).
On April 28th, the Ministry of Transport, in coordination with the People's Committees of Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces, held an opening ceremony to put into operation the Dien Chau - Bai Vot Expressway Project (section from Dien Chau to National Highway 46B), approximately 30 km long, passing through the districts of Dien Chau, Nghi Loc, and Hung Nguyen in Nghe An province. The section starts in Dien Cat commune, Dien Chau district, connecting to the end point of the Nghi Son - Dien Chau component project; the lane separation point is at the intersection with National Highway 46B in Hung Tay commune, Hung Nguyen district, Nghe An province.
The 19.3 km section from the intersection with National Highway 46B in Hung Tay commune, Hung Nguyen district, Nghe An province, to the end point in Thanh Binh Thinh commune, Duc Tho district, Ha Tinh province, connecting with the Bai Vot - Ham Nghi expressway project, is also expected to be operational by the end of June.
Since this is a public-private partnership project, a toll collection plan was in place from the outset. The project enterprise is permitted to collect tolls and operate the facility for 16 years, 6 months, and 8 days.
On the Dien Chau - Bai Vot section, there will be three toll stations located in Nghi Phuong commune, Nghi Loc district, and the intersection of National Highway 46B - Hung Tay, Hung Nguyen district, both in Nghe An province, and a station located at the intersection of National Highway 8 in Thanh Binh Thinh commune, Duc Tho district, Ha Tinh province.
According to Clause 1, Article 44 of the Road Law: Expressway (hereinafter referred to as expressway) is a technical class of road, intended only for certain types of motor vehicles as prescribed, with a median separating the two directions of traffic, not intersecting at the same level with one or more other roads, equipped with protective barriers and service equipment to ensure continuous and safe traffic, shorten travel time, and only allowing vehicles to enter and exit at designated points.
