In the meeting, MoT introduced feasible solutions for issues in 7 BOT projects of La Son – Tuy Loan Toll Plaza (Deo Ca Road Tunnel project), Bim Son Toll Plaza (Thanh Hoa Bypass project), Km1747 Toll Station (Ho Chi Minh Road Upgrade project), T2 Toll Station (National Way No.91 Upgrade project), National Way No.3 Toll Plaza (Thai Nguyen – Cho Moi Road Building project), Thai Ha Bridge Toll Plaza (Thai Binh – Ha Nam Connection Bridge project), and the upgrade project for Saigon River (from Binh Loi Railway Bridge to Ben Suc Railway Bridge).
At present, these projects either are not operable or are witnessing a revenue reduction due to both objective reasons and policy changes from state agencies. Therefore, MoT suggested an allocation of VND11,710 billion (US$506 million) from state budget to tackle existing problems. However, the law on public investment states that this allocation needs an approval from the National Assembly.
Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh recommended that MoT and related state units quickly solve those problems to avoid the case of investors going bankrupt just because they cannot collect toll after having poured hundreds of billions of VND into these BOT projects.
In response, Transport Minister Nguyen Van The said that in May 2022, his ministry is going to submit a detailed report to the Prime Minister regarding the current status of these BOT stations for a consistent solution.
The Deputy Prime Minister also expressed his displeasure with the tardiness of ETC installation projects along expressways, managed by Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC). He demanded that MoT and related state agencies urgently address existing problems.
Meanwhile, VEC must accelerate the installation of ETC systems in their managed projects by the end of this July; otherwise, they will have to endure investigation on the causes of delays. Simultaneously, MoT must prepare solutions for such situations as unmarked vehicles entering expressways whose lanes apply ETC from June 1.
