Electronic toll collection project behind schedule Le Anh A long queue of vehicles waits to pay fees at a toll station. An electronic toll collection project for National Highway 1A and the Central Highlands section of Ho Chi Minh Road has fallen far behind schedule - PHOTO: ANH QUAN HCMC – An electronic toll collection project for National Highway 1A and the Central Highlands section of Ho Chi Minh Road has fallen far behind schedule, heard a Ministry of Transport meeting on July 5. According to the project, automated toll collection systems would have been installed at 28 toll stations on National Highway 1A and Ho Chi Minh Road’s Central Highlands section by June 30. However, a report by the Public-Private Partnership Investment Project Management Department said only 13 toll stations had been equipped with automated toll collection systems but just eight of them are now operational. Minister of Transport Truong Quang Nghia said … [Read more...] about Electronic toll collection project behind schedule
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Hà Tĩnh residents protest against unreasonable toll collection
Viet Nam News HÀ TĨNH - A protest against toll collection by local residents at Cầu Rác toll station in Cẩm Xuyên District disrupted traffic for two hours on Sunday. This comes on the heels of several similar incidents in many localities in the country recently, where people believe there are too many toll stations on the BOT (Build-Operation-Transfer) highways and the fees are too high. On Sunday morning, people from Cẩm Trung Commune in Cẩm Xuyên District drove around 50 cars and trucks at snail's speed at a toll station on National Highway 1. Each of the vehicles had banners stuck on them that read: "We don't use the BOT road, why are you forcing us to pay the fee?" Protestors argue that the BOT toll station is located at an unreasonable spot. In 2005, Hà Tĩnh-based Sông Đà Infrastructure One Member Ltd Co built a 16-km road to bypass Hà Tĩnh City. The toll station, however, is located at Cầu Rác, which is 30km away from this road. A truck driver, who took part in the protest, … [Read more...] about Hà Tĩnh residents protest against unreasonable toll collection
Speed up electronic toll collection: Transport Minister
Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI - Transport Minister Trương Quang Nghị has ordered haste on the installation of electronic toll collection (ETC) equipment in toll stations on major highways. All project proposals to install ETC equipment must be submitted to his ministry before April 15, and relevant documents and contracts between the ETC installers and BOT (Build Operate Transfer) investors of the highways should be signed before April 30, he said. Nghi said this applies in particular to the 28 toll stations that are to implement the technology in the first phase of the national project that will cover all stations by the end of 2020. The latest order comes after tardy progress made thus far on upgrading the toll stations despite the project having been initiated by the ministry in 2015. In the first phase, the ETC equipment will be installed at 28 toll stations on National Highway No 1 and the section that runs through the Central Highlands region of the Hồ Chí Minh Highway. The ETC … [Read more...] about Speed up electronic toll collection: Transport Minister
BOT toll collection mechanisms need tweaking
Viet Nam News Nguyễn Hồng Trường, Deputy Transport Minister explains to chinhphu.vn (Government Portal) the financial workings of some BOT projects that have attracted public criticism. The State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAV) concluded recently that quite a few of 27 BOT projects that it audited should reduce their toll collection period by 5-7 years. Many people have blamed this on inaccurate calculations by the Ministry of Transport. How would you respond? I just want to clarify the procedures for calculating total investment for a BOT project. The MoT firstly assigns project management boards to come up with investment proposals, including a master plan and preliminary cost estimations of the project. The preliminary cost estimate covers two components: the construction budget and the reserved budget for inflation and interest on loans taken to invest in the project. Regarding the project construction value, I can say there are no differences in a BOT project and a project using … [Read more...] about BOT toll collection mechanisms need tweaking
Road builder wants toll collection to recoup capital
Road builder wants toll collection to recoup capital Le Anh HCMC - BT Nga Ba Hue Trung Nam Co Ltd has written to Danang City proposing recovering the investment cost of the Hue Intersection project via toll collection if the central coast city cannot pay for the project. The build-transfer project was opened to traffic two years ago but Danang has had a hard time paying for the company. In a document sent to Danang in mid-March, the affiliate of Trung Nam Group said it and relevant agencies in the city had worked with the ministries of planning-investment and transport over the delayed payment. However, the Ministry of Transport said there was no surplus investment capital from the national highway 1A and 14 upgrade projects, so no money could be arranged to pay for the Hue Intersection project in 2017-2020. Though the Hue Intersection has been in use in 2015, the Ministry of Transport has not added the cost of the project to a medium-term investment capital disbursement plan for … [Read more...] about Road builder wants toll collection to recoup capital