Proposal to collect tolls on state-invested highways for 5 groups of vehicles

The Ministry of Transport is seeking opinions from relevant ministries and units on the draft Decree regulating the collection of fees for using state-invested expressways.

Accordingly, the proposed highway toll is collected according to 5 groups of vehicles with the lowest level of 900 VND/km and the highest level of 5,200 VND/km.

The drafting agency said that the draft Decree was built on the basis of the provisions of the Road Law.

The Road Law stipulates that the State collects fees for using expressways owned by the entire people and directly managed and operated by the State, including: Expressways invested by the State in the form of public investment; expressways invested in other forms, when the contract ends, are transferred to the State.

According to the Director of the Vietnam Road Administration (the agency assigned to draft the draft Decree), tolls will only be collected on expressways invested by the State when the following conditions are met:

Expressways are designed and invested in according to technical standards and regulations on expressways and other relevant technical standards and regulations.

The highway has been completed and put into operation and use according to the provisions of the law on construction.

Complete the construction and installation of toll station infrastructure, software systems, equipment for toll collection; public service works (providing free services) at rest stops approved by competent authorities.

10 expressways expected to collect tolls

The proposed fee for using the expressway owned by the people, directly managed and operated by the State and under the management of the Ministry of Transport, is 2 levels:

The toll for a 4-lane highway with a continuous emergency lane (level 1) ranges from 1,300 - 5,200 VND/km depending on the vehicle group.

The fee for a 4-lane highway without a continuous emergency lane (level 2) ranges from 900 - 3,600 VND/km depending on the vehicle group.

The Ministry of Transport said that there are currently 12 projects and expressway sections invested in by the State and represented by the owner, completed and put into operation and use.

The results of quantifying the operating costs and time of vehicles traveling on 12 expressways invested by the State before 2020 and put into operation show that, compared to traveling on parallel national highways, vehicles traveling on expressways will benefit an average of VND 4,824/vehicle/km.

Of which 25% comes from saving vehicle operating costs and 75% comes from saving time for goods and passengers on the road.

The vehicle type that receives the greatest benefit is a passenger van with 30 seats or more, with an average of 14,132 VND/vehicle/km. The vehicle that receives the least benefit is a truck over 2 tons, with an average benefit of 1,174 VND/km.

The Ministry of Transport believes that the amount of highway tolls paid to the state budget will contribute to creating a source of funding for investment in developing the highway system and for the management and maintenance of highways.

With the proposed fee level as above, it is expected that after implementing toll collection on 10 expressways in operation, the collected fee amount will be 3,210 billion VND/year; the amount paid to the state budget will be 2,850 billion VND/year.

In response to concerns that tolls on state-funded highways are “double charges,” the Ministry of Transport said that highways bring more benefits to road users than parallel national highways. Road users have the right to choose to travel on national highways or pay to use the highway to enjoy higher quality of service and benefits.

"Collecting highway usage fees for vehicles traveling on highways invested, owned, managed and operated by the State does not cause duplicate fees," the Ministry of Transport affirmed.

Based on the above, the Ministry of Transport proposed 10 expressways expected to collect tolls, including: Hanoi - Thai Nguyen, Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong, Mai Son - National Highway 45, National Highway 45 - Nghi Son, Nghi Son - Dien Chau, Cam Lo - La Son, La Son - Hoa Lien, Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet, Phan Thiet - Dau Giay, My Thuan - Can Tho.