After many years of searching for solutions to limit vehicles from avoiding stations to prevent revenue loss, the owner of BOT Dien Ban (Quang Nam) said there was almost nothing he could do but wait in vain.
Dien Ban BOT Station – Photo: BD
“In 2008, we were the first enterprise to do BOT in Quang Nam and Da Nang. But now we see that it is really a burden.
"If there were no toll stations, my business would not be facing as many difficulties and hardships as it is now," said Mr. Than Hoa, director of Company 545, the investor of Dien Ban BOT.
“People only see BOT stations collecting money, few know what happened before.”
According to Mr. Than Hoa, in 2008 in Da Nang and Quang Nam, there was only one toll station on National Highway 1A in Lien Chieu District, Da Nang City, invested by the State.
Faced with poor roads and budget constraints at that time, the State called for socialization of infrastructure.
As a native of Quang Nam, Mr. Hoa said he volunteered to invest in the road section from Da Nang to Quang Nam.
The first project was National Highway 1A from Hoa Cam to Hoa Phuoc (Hoa Vang, Da Nang). This road was built in 2008 but was left unfinished due to lack of funds, making it very difficult for people to travel. Company 545 received the investment to change the face of the infrastructure.
“At that time, National Highway 1A was only 7.5 meters or 10 meters wide, I don’t remember clearly. But the road was very bad, with potholes and dust everywhere. I spent money to make the road wider and cleaner, then asked to recover the capital through a BOT station. After about 7-8 years, I saw that the road in Quang Nam was too bad, so I asked to continue investing in my hometown,” Mr. Hoa said.
Mr. Than Hoa - Director of Company 545 - Photo: BD
When Da Nang ended its toll collection period, Company 545 continued to propose investing in upgrading National Highway 1A from Duy Xuyen to Phu Ninh (Quang Nam). To recoup the project's capital, the toll station was moved from Da Nang to the current Dien Ban BOT location.
“At that time, it took 2-3 hours to travel from Dien Ban to Tam Ky, only a few dozen kilometers away. It was also very difficult to call for investment, no company did it. Because I thought of my responsibility to my hometown, I spent my own money to do it so that people could have clear roads to travel, changing the face of the province,” Mr. Hoa explained.
According to Mr. Hoa, at first, because National Highway 1 was a single road and no residential areas had been formed, the toll station of Company 545 collected well. With money, the company was confident that it would recover its capital early, and devote many resources to supporting local social security programs.
Due to the large investment, the money collected from BOT stations is all used to pay the principal and interest to the bank.
“We are doing well in business, and seeing the government and businesses doing the same makes me happy. People have roads, and the budget is also stretched to invest in other more essential projects.
To be honest, there is nothing wrong with the BOT policy, but what is not good is the lack of consistency and determination to protect businesses. The State does not have a clear plan to help businesses in difficult times in the spirit of "sharing risks and harmonizing benefits" - Mr. Than Hoa said.
BOT stations become a pile of debt
The director of Company 545 said that his business used to be very strong. But things went downhill and became worse from 2017-2018 when residential areas connected to National Highway 1A sprung up on both sides of Dien Ban BOT station, unintentionally becoming toll-avoidance routes.
Looking at the deserted toll station, the line of cars making a U-shape to go around residential roads without paying the toll, Company 545 sent a petition to agencies from the town to the Central Government.
“We sent countless letters, tried to keep hope alive, but in the end everything was still deadlocked. The station was almost empty, 90% of the vehicles were taking detours, and the bank debt, including principal and interest, was now over 1,000 billion VND. The bank and auditors can prove how much profit or loss there was because they knew all the money coming in and out.
Because of the BOT project following the call of my homeland, I have to bear a huge debt. Recently, I have been unable to eat or sleep, and I have been grumpy and frustrated every day because no one has helped me when I asked for help, and no one has listened to my troubles," said Mr. Hoa.
Residential roads on both sides of Dien Ban BOT station – Photo: BD
Mr. Hoa said that he did not demand benefits for the business. He hoped for understanding and that the State would help his business as well as other businesses in this most difficult time. Because the most important goal is to maintain the investment environment.
“The reason why BOT stations cannot collect tolls is because of the formation of residential roads avoiding the stations, highways and coastal roads. We propose three options: the State buys back the stations, or moves the stations to a place where revenue is guaranteed, or supports to limit vehicles avoiding the stations.
It is also possible to share the financial burden by providing direct support. But so far there is no way out. The BOT station is still abandoned, the road has been invested and used for decades. The business still has to do the maintenance, if the BOT fee is not collected, it will only lead to bankruptcy" - Mr. Hoa presented.
BOT station 'deadlocked'
As reported by Tuoi Tre Online , since the Dien Ban BOT station was established, residential areas on both sides of the station have caused the number of vehicles going around to avoid toll collection to increase suddenly.
Responding to the enterprise's proposal, the Department of Roads said that the station relocation was not in accordance with the direction of the Ministry of Transport and the BOT contract that the enterprise had signed and proposed earlier.
Regarding the proposal for the State to buy back the Dien Thang Trung BOT station, the Ministry of Transport has submitted to the Government for consideration and direction on handling difficulties and problems in a number of transport infrastructure investment projects under the form of BOT contracts.
Regarding the proposal to close or narrow the median strip in front of Dien Thang Trung BOT station, management agencies also said it was not feasible, due to the risk of accidents and difficulties for people's travel.
Most recently, Company 545 proposed a solution to limit the height of roads avoiding toll stations to force large vehicles to pass through toll stations. This proposal is under consideration.
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