General Department of Roads unexpectedly proposes: release all toll stations for 3 days of Tet

This is quite a surprising move as recently some investors in BOT traffic projects proposed that the Ministry of Transport allow toll stations to be closed during Tet to thank drivers and let employees rest.

However, according to the General Department of Roads, these cases often propose that the toll-free days are not included in the project's revenue. Thus, the investor will collect compensation for the days of toll release, increasing the toll collection time of the BOT project. This is different from the case where the investor counts the toll-free days as part of the project's revenue, accepting to pay out of pocket to compensate for the days of no revenue due to toll release.

Illustration photo.

Meanwhile, the above proposal to release the station is not stipulated in the BOT contract and legal documents. Circular No. 49 of the Ministry of Transport on the organization and operation of toll stations stipulates: toll stations operate 24/24 hours on all days of the year, including weekends and holidays.

Therefore, the General Department of Roads always recommends that the Ministry of Transport maintain continuous toll collection 24/7, including holidays and Tet.

It is known that the General Department of Roads proposed to release all toll stations during the 3 days of Tet as above because the Ministry of Transport issued a document directing the General Department to review regulations and thoroughly consider the station release proposal of investors.

After review, the General Department of Roads affirmed that in the legal documents on road service fee collection of the Ministry of Transport and BOT project contracts, there are no regulations on suspending fee collection during holidays and Tet.

However, recently, some project enterprises have sent documents requesting the Ministry of Transport and the General Department of Roads to consider approving a temporary suspension of toll collection during some days of the Lunar New Year.

"Considering that the traffic volume through toll stations during the 3 days of Tet is not much, the suspension of toll collection during the 3 days of Tet does not affect the financial plan of BOT projects. The suspension of toll collection creates conditions for people to have a happy and convenient New Year, smooth traffic and creates conditions for toll collection officers and employees to have a day off and celebrate Tet with their families" - Mr. Nguyen Xuan Cuong - Deputy Director General of the General Department of Roads commented.

Therefore, the Vietnam Road Administration recommends that the Ministry of Transport decide:

Temporarily stop collecting road service fees at all toll stations managed by the Ministry from 0:00 on February 4 to 24:00 on February 6, 2019, i.e. from 0:00 on December 30 to 24:00 on the 2nd day of the Lunar New Year.

For toll stations where the People's Committees of the provinces are the competent state agencies, the General Department of Roads requests the Ministry of Transport to send opinions to the People's Committees of the provinces to consider temporarily suspending the collection of road use service fees during the above period.