200km section of highway to have six toll stations by year end
A total of six road fee collection stations will be installed within this year on a section of over 200 kilometers on National Highway 14 linking Binh Phuoc Province to the Central Highlands region of Viet Nam.
In addition, the road fee at one of the six stations in Binh Phuoc has tripled since June 15.
This contradicts the regulation Transport Minister Dinh La Thang confirmed to the prime minister last month that the minimum distance between two road fee collection stations is 70 kilometers on a highway.
National Highway 14 in Gia Nghia Town in Dak Nong Province in the Central Highlands region |
According to the Ministry of Finance, five more road fee collection stations will be set up on the road from now till the end of this year, together with another one currently in operation in Binh Phuoc.
It includes two stations each in Gia Lai and Dak Nong provinces, and another in Dak Lak Province in the Central Highlands region.
A truck driver estimates that it will cost a 40-foot container truck over VND1 million (US$46) in road fees to go through these stations from Gia Lai to Binh Phuoc.
At the Binh Phuoc station, the road fee for a 12-seat car has gone up from VND10,000 to VND300,000 ($1.5) since June 15.
Similarly, the cost for a 40-foot container truck has risen from VND80,000 ($3.7) to VND180,000 ($8.3).
According to the Ministry of Transport, Viet Nam now has a total of 96 road fee collection stations working or set to open on national highways invested in the form of BOT (Build – Operate – Transfer).
They include 45 posts currently in use and 51 others to become operational when construction of certain roads finishes by 2018.
(Source: Tuoitrenews)