Proposal to pilot toll collection on 9 expressways invested with state budget

In an official dispatch sent to relevant ministries asking for opinions on the pilot plan to collect fees for using state-invested expressways before submitting it to the Government, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) proposed allowing nine state-invested expressways to be completed and put into operation before 2025 to pilot the fee mechanism.

Đề xuất thí điểm thu phí 9 tuyến cao tốc đầu tư bằng ngân sách - Ảnh 1.

Mai Son - National Highway 45 is one of 9 highway sections proposed to pilot road toll collection.

In addition to the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway, eight sections of the North - South Eastern Expressway in the 2017 - 2020 period are proposed to apply the pilot mechanism, including: Cao Bo - Mai Son; Mai Son - National Highway 45; National Highway 45 - Nghi Son; Nghi Son - Dien Chau; Cam Lo - La Son; Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet; Phan Thiet - Dau Giay; My Thuan 2 Bridge.

The proposed pilot implementation period is applied until the legal regulations on highway toll collection are passed by the National Assembly. The maximum pilot collection period under the toll mechanism is 5 years from the time the road section/route is implemented toll collection.

The toll collection levels for these 9 expressways will be determined based on 3 principles: the collection level is appropriate to the interests and payment capacity of expressway users; the collection level is built on the basis of the total collected fees after compensating for collection costs, ensuring a surplus to balance the state budget; the collection level is calculated for each specific expressway section/route to ensure it is appropriate to the operating conditions and socio-economic conditions of each region.

Regarding the method of toll collection, the Ministry of Transport proposed to comprehensively apply non-stop toll collection, multi-lane connection between expressway sections/routes, between state-invested projects and PPP (public-private partnership) projects. The amount collected after deducting the collection organization costs will be paid directly to the state budget.

According to the Ministry of Transport, because the collection of tolls on state-invested highways is unprecedented, the pilot project must be carried out sequentially in accordance with regulations.

In which, the Government submitted to the National Assembly a Resolution approving the pilot mechanism for collecting highway usage fees through toll stations on highway sections/routes.

After the National Assembly Resolution on the pilot mechanism is passed, the Government will issue a Decree guiding the collection, payment, management and use of the collected amount. On that basis, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance will issue relevant legal documents.

When the legal basis for collecting tolls for using expressways through toll stations is completed, the Ministry of Transport shall direct the agency assigned to manage expressways to develop exploitation projects (including the organization of toll collection) for expressways that have been approved for pilot implementation, and submit them to competent authorities for approval for implementation in accordance with legal regulations on management and use of public assets and relevant legal regulations.

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