BOT toll station through Quang Tri is located in the middle of the only North-South route.

People using half of the BOT route have to pay for the service for the whole route.

The Ministry of Transport has just issued a document responding to National Assembly Delegate Ha Sy Dong (Quang Tri) about the Quang Tri BOT station located in the middle of the only North-South route.

According to National Assembly Deputy Ha Sy Dong, the Quang Tri BOT station is at Km763+800 National Highway, located in the middle of the only North-South route through Quang Tri province, at the southern gateway to Dong Ha city (administrative center of Quang Tri province).

The station is also located between two major urban areas of the province, Dong Ha city and the special national relic site of Quang Tri Ancient Citadel - Quang Tri town, dividing the centers of three district-level administrative units, between Trieu Phong district, Quang Tri town and Hai Lang district.

Every day, vehicles in these localities frequently pass through the BOT station to enter the administrative center of the province, and vehicles in Dong Ha city entering the station must pass through the BOT station.

In particular, after the BOT route from Gio Linh town to Dong Ha city was put into operation, although people only used less than half of the BOT route length, they had to pay for the service for the entire route, causing public outrage.

“On the other hand, in the process of investing in the transport system to serve the socio-economic development of Quang Tri province, the traffic routes connecting to the BOT section on National Highway 1 did not receive consensus from the Ministry of Transport and investors.

The reason is that the connection will divide the traffic flow through the BOT station, affecting the financial plan signed between the Ministry of Transport and the BOT investor.

Therefore, the connection was not approved, causing many difficulties for the socio-economic development of the province and affecting the lives of people in the area...", delegate Ha Sy Dong stated.

According to Mr. Ha Sy Dong, since the BOT station was established, people and voters in Quang Tri province have been very upset and have frequently petitioned about the unreasonable location of the station.

The delegation of National Assembly deputies, People's Council and Provincial People's Committee have proposed to the Ministry of Transport and the Government about the plan related to this BOT station.

First , move the station to the southern end of the province. Second , the State supports the central budget to buy back the BOT station from the investor.

However, up to now, both of the above options have not been considered for resolution.

“I request the Minister to study and consider sharing the difficulties of the province and the expectations of Quang Tri voters for decades. Can they be considered for resolution? I hope the Minister will soon have a plan to remove difficulties for Quang Tri so that the locality can have conditions to develop the socio-economy and ensure security and order, and stabilize people's lives,” emphasized delegate Ha Sy Dong.

Ministry of Transport: Relocation is not feasible, only fare reduction will be implemented

Responding to the above content, the Ministry of Transport said that the toll station at Km763+800 National Highway 1 was built to collect tolls to repay capital for 2 BOT projects to expand National Highway 1A from Dong Ha city to Quang Tri town and the investment project to build the National Highway 1 expansion project from Km741+170 - Km756+705, Quang Tri province.

During the implementation process, the location determination was carried out by the Ministry of Transport in accordance with the procedures prescribed by law and agreed upon by the People's Committee of Quang Tri province and the Ministry of Finance.

The fee levels, collection, payment, management and use of toll fees at toll stations are implemented according to Circular No. 95/2015/TT-BTC dated June 19, 2015 of the Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry of Transport believes that the open toll collection method (by turn) has shortcomings and limitations in that it can only ensure relative fairness.

“In the vicinity of toll stations, when using short distances, passing through the station still requires a fee, while vehicles traveling longer distances but not passing through the station also do not have to pay a fee. Toll collection only ensures fairness when applying a closed toll collection method, with users paying based on the actual kilometers traveled, as with highways,” the Ministry of Transport informed.

Implementing the Government's direction in Resolution No. 35 on supporting businesses, the Ministry of Transport has negotiated with investors and proposed that the Ministry of Finance approve a reduction in road service fees.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Finance has issued Circular No. 135 adjusting and reducing fees for vehicles of type 4 and type 54.

In addition, to overcome the shortcomings and limitations of the open toll collection method, according to the proposal of Quang Tri province, the Ministry of Transport has approved a price reduction for vehicles of owners with permanent residence registration and business organizations with headquarters located in the area.

“Up to now, the project investor/enterprise has issued ticket discount cards to 15,919/21,401 vehicles of all types and is continuing to issue ticket discount cards to eligible vehicle owners,” the Ministry of Transport stated.

Regarding the connection of traffic routes with the BOT section on National Highway 1, the Ministry of Transport said that, implementing the policy of promoting decentralization and delegation of authority in State management, the Ministry of Transport has issued Circular No. 39 on management and protection of road traffic infrastructure.

*Quang Tri BOT toll station is located at Km 763+800-QL1. Photo: Lao Dong Newspaper*

Accordingly, for the connection locations to national highways within the scope of investment projects under the PPP method, the requirements specified in Circular No. 39 and the documents submitted by the Department of Transport must be ensured, with the consensus of the investor.

The Provincial People's Committee decides to approve the connection points, announce and organize the implementation. Therefore, the Ministry of Transport requests the Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee to consider each specific location based on the need to connect local routes with National Highway 1, agree with the investor and decide according to its authority.

Regarding the plan to relocate the toll station to the southern end of the province, the Ministry of Transport said that the relocation would be outside the scope of the project, not comply with regulations on station location, and would not be financially feasible.

Regarding the proposal to support the central budget to buy back BOT stations, the Ministry of Transport said it has conducted a review. However, the two projects mentioned above have not met the requirements to be included in the list of handling shortcomings.

“In the current difficult state budget situation, attracting all resources to invest in infrastructure development under the PPP model is in line with the Party and State’s policies. The Ministry of Transport hopes that National Assembly Deputy Ha Sy Dong will share the difficulties of the transport sector in the current period,” the Ministry of Transport stated.

Source