How should the road maintenance fund be used?

The Ministry of Finance is drafting a Circular guiding the management, use, payment, and settlement of funds for road management and maintenance.

The draft clearly states that the Road Maintenance Fund is a State Fund with legal personality, a seal, and an account opened at the State Treasury. The Fund is established at the central level and is called the Central Road Maintenance Fund (Central Fund), and at the provincial level and is called the Local Road Maintenance Fund (Local Fund).

Illustrative image.

The funding sources for the Central Fund include: central government budget allocation from road usage fees collected and remitted to the central budget (65% of the projected revenue); supplementary central government budget allocation to the Central Fund; revenue related to road usage; and other sources as prescribed by law.

The funding sources for the local fund include: targeted supplementary central government budget allocations to local budgets from road usage fees collected and remitted to the state budget (35% of the projected revenue); supplementary local budget allocations to the local fund; revenue related to road usage; and other sources as prescribed by law.

The Road Maintenance Fund is subject to inspection, audit, and supervision by State agencies as prescribed; annually, the planning, allocation, assignment of plans, management, payment, and settlement of revenue and expenditure of the Fund are carried out in accordance with current regulations.

The Road Maintenance Fund must publicly disclose its management and use, and report on the implementation of financial transparency as required by regulations.

The draft also proposes the following expenditure items for road management and maintenance: Regular maintenance of road infrastructure; periodic repair of road infrastructure; emergency repairs (addressing the consequences of natural disasters, floods, and storms; addressing traffic accident black spots or other unusual causes to ensure road traffic and safety); operating expenses for fixed and mobile vehicle weight inspection stations, including: regular operating expenses, non-regular expenses (purchasing, repairing, and inspecting equipment; repairing and upgrading station buildings); and expenses for purchasing and repairing vehicles and equipment directly serving state management of road maintenance activities…

According to Khanh Linh/chinhphu.vn