The Ministry of Construction has just issued Document No. 11727/BXD-CDBVN to the Committee for Petitions and Supervision of the National Assembly; Delegation of National Assembly Deputies of Lam Dong province on responding to voters' petitions sent after the First Session, 16th National Assembly.
Previously, the Ministry of Construction received a petition from voters in Lam Dong province regarding the proposal to consider toll rates between national highways and expressways.
According to voters, currently road tolls are very low compared to highways, leading to the number of vehicles entering national highways in densely populated areas for fear of high tolls, potentially posing a risk of traffic unsafety in residential areas.
After studying, the Ministry of Construction responded to voters as follows:
Implementing the law on fees and charges, the law on prices, the Ministry of Construction and relevant agencies and units have reviewed and developed road use fees for vehicles traveling on expressways or national highways based on compliance with the principles of determining fees and the principles of price determination of the State;
Considering the State's socio-economic development policies in each period; ensuring fairness, publicity, transparency and equality in the rights and obligations of citizens, the legitimate rights and interests of the State, organizations, and individuals; and at the same time being consistent with each form of road construction investment.
For road construction investment projects in the form of PPP, the road use service fee level is determined to ensure investment capital recovery; meet the costs of management, operation, and maintenance of road works; profits of investors as prescribed.
The toll rate for using expressways, which is directly managed and operated by the State as the owner's representative, is determined based on calculations suitable to the interests and payment capacity of users; harmonizing with the toll rate for using national highways and expressways invested in the public-private partnership method to contribute to creating resources for upgrading, renovating, managing, operating, and maintaining existing road traffic infrastructure assets, as well as to invest in new road construction projects.
In addition, the toll level for using highways is closed toll collection determined based on the actual travel distance (km), the toll level corresponding to each type of vehicle (VND/km), vehicles traveling short distances collect less toll and vice versa;
On the national highway, open tolls are determined by turn, regardless of the actual travel distance.
For example, the road use service fee for group 1 vehicles (Vehicles under 12 seats, trucks with a tonnage of under 2 tons; public passenger transport buses) when traveling on National Highway 1A through Cam Thinh toll station is 40,000 VND/vehicle (equivalent to 1,090 VND/vehicle/km) or through Ca Na toll station (Km1584+100) is 40,000 VND/vehicle (equivalent to 1,081 VND/vehicle/km);
Meanwhile, if traveling on the North-South Expressway in the East (invested by the State) section from Bai Vot to Cam Lo, from Quang Ngai to Nha Trang, from Vinh Hao to Phan Thiet..., the toll fee to be paid is 900 VND/vehicle/km. Thus, the difference between the expressway use fee and the service fee for using the national highway is not large.
Traffic on national highways or expressways is the choice of vehicle owners participating in road traffic; ensuring compliance with travel needs, benefits and affordability of users.
