Non-stop toll collection on BOT highways likely to miss deadline
All build-operate-transfer (BOT) highways across Vietnam are scheduled to use electronic toll collection systems by the end of this year, but many seem set to fall short of the goal.
A toll station on Hanoi - Bac Giang Expressway (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Allbuild-operate-transfer (BOT) highways across Vietnam are scheduled to useelectronic toll collection systems by the end of this year, but many seem setto fall short of the goal.
In 2017, theGovernment assigned the Ministry of Transport to run a project onautomated non-stop toll collection at all the BOT highways it oversees.
The two-phased project aimed todeal with 77 toll stations and it was targeted that by the end of last year,all stations would use electronic toll collection (ETC). However, the deadlinewas missed.
Now, only 40 out of 44 tollstations in the first phase of the project have installed and used ETC. Inthe first phase, the project was implemented by Vietnam Electronic TollCollection Company (VETC), dealing with 44 stations including 26 stations onNational Highway No 1 and on part of HCM Highway in the Central Highlandsregion and another 18 stations on national highways and expressway across thecountry.
In the second phase, afteropening the bidding, the Ministry of Transport chose Viettel and someother companies to implement the project which would deal with 33 stations.
According to the ministry, inthe first phase of the project, VETC lacked funding to invest in ETC systemsfor toll stations. In the second phase, the difficulty was forming a jointventure company with agreement from all involved parties.
To solve the difficulty,Viettel and involved companies negotiated and agreed to form a joint venturecompany with 86 percent of its capital contributed by Viettel and the remaining14 percent of its capital from partners.
Nguyen Viet Huy, vice head ofthe Public-Private Partnership Department under the Ministry of Transport,said the joint venture company led by Viettel was a necessary move allowingthem to join the automated non-stop toll collection project.
“As Viettel is one of theleading information and technology companies in Vietnam, it’s reasonable tobelieve the non-stop toll collection project will meet its deadline this year,”he said./.
The Vietnam Expressway Corporation began a new system of collecting tolls using smart cards on the HCM City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway, which connects HCM City and Dong Nai province, on May 15.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has issued an official dispatch asking for the speeding up of the implementation of automated non-stop toll collection on all build-operation-transfer (BOT) highways across the country with a deadline of end of the year.
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A toll station on Hanoi - Bac Giang Expressway (Photo: VNA) 
