VCCI proposes to collect BOT fees based on the amount of money saved

This method of collecting fees based on saved transportation costs is different from the way the Ministry of Transport wants to collect fees based on trips or route length.

The above viewpoint was given by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in a document providing comments on the draft Circular amending Circular 35/2016/TT-BGTVT regulating the maximum price for road use services for business.

Specifically, the agency representing the business community believes that this calculation method is inappropriate when the full-route pricing method (price per turn) is often applied to open toll collection projects and road tunnels.

Therefore, according to VCCI, this pricing method completely disregards the length of the route, road quality, speed and travel time before and after the road project...

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For the road length method (price per section), which is often applied to toll projects, although the price is determined based on the length of the route, factors such as road quality, speed and travel time... are not considered.

"This pricing method seems too general and can cause many inappropriate social consequences. For example, the whole-route method can lead to a situation where a 30km stretch of road is charged the same toll as a 100km stretch of road," VCCI stated.

Therefore, VCCI believes that the above two methods cannot solve the problem of excessively high fees for some renovation projects, causing negative reactions from vehicle owners and discouraging investors from investing.

VCCI recommends applying a method of calculating road usage prices for each vehicle based on the "saved transportation cost" of that vehicle.

Specifically, suppose the average cost for a 4-ton to 10-ton truck to travel from A to B is 500,000 VND. After the road project is built, this cost is reduced to only 300,000 VND.

Thus, a vehicle traveling from A to B will benefit 200,000 VND. The State has set a regulation that the maximum price cannot exceed 50% of the cost savings. Thus, the investor is only allowed to collect a maximum price of 100,000 VND.

According to VCCI, this method has the advantage of creating a suitable price, because the investor is only allowed to collect a price equal to 50% of what the vehicle owner benefits from.

At the same time, this collection method is also suitable for all types of projects, avoiding the situation of "renovating old roads, collecting tolls like new roads", creating motivation for investors to choose effective projects.

Also according to VCCI, in order to ensure the rights of investors, it is necessary to add a transitional clause that for projects that have been approved or signed contracts before the effective date of this Circular, the transition to a new price level requires the consent of both investors.

Regarding the regulation on reducing road usage fees for local people at toll stations, VCCI said that this regulation only determines in principle that the price will be reduced, but does not specifically stipulate the level of reduction and the subjects eligible for the reduction.

Therefore, to ensure transparency and consistency, VCCI believes that it is necessary to supplement regulations on notification and widespread consultation of businesses and people about the project, including price exemptions and reductions during the project research and appraisal process.