Vehicles travelling on Trung Lương-Mỹ Thuận expressway. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Transport (MoT) has submitted a proposal to the Government to issue a resolution on toll collection for the use of state-invested expressways.

According to the ministry, expressways play a crucial role in the country's development, reducing travel time between regions, promoting socio-economic growth, and ensuring national security and defence, both at the state and local levels where expressways pass through.

In the proposal, the MoT said that vehicles using expressways will save a certain amount compared to travelling on national highways.

Currently, each vehicle saves about VNĐ5,265 (US$0.22) per kilometre when using the Cầu Giẽ-Ninh Bình, HCM City-Trung Lương and HCM City-Long Thành-Dầu Giây expressways.

This cost-saving is achieved through a 25 per cent reduction in vehicle operating expenses and a 75 per cent reduction in travel time.

Passenger vehicles with 30 seats or more save the most, with an estimated average of VNĐ12,348 ($0.51) per kilometre while trucks under two tonnes save VNĐ1,974 ($0.08).

For commuters, using expressways will lead to a 60 per cent reduction in travel time.

As per the national socio-economic development strategy for the 2021-2030 period, the goal is to have about 5,000 kilometres of expressways nationwide by 2030, out of the total planned length of 9,014 kilometres.

To achieve this goal, initial investment capital for construction, management, and operation until 2030 is estimated at around VNĐ813 trillion (over $34.1 million).

For the 2021-2025 period, about VNĐ393 trillion ($16.5 million) is needed to complete 2,043 kilometres and commence the construction of 925 kilometres of expressways, according to the MoT.

Collecting tolls for expressway use through booths is one of the tools and solutions aimed at enhancing management efforts. This approach helps balance the flow of vehicles on expressways and existing national highways, enabling load control, monitoring and restricting vehicles that do not meet standards, and prohibiting their travel on expressways.

These measures contribute to improving the effectiveness of expressway operations and enhancing the benefits they bring.

The collected toll fees will be contributed to the State budget and utilised according to regulations on budget allocation. This allocation prioritises investment funds, management, and road maintenance.

It also supports road investment projects through the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract model, especially in cases affected by traffic diversion due to the opening of the expressway routes (compared to the initial terms of project contracts).

The mechanism for sharing toll revenue is based on the investment ratio of both the central and local budgets participating in expressway investment projects. — VNS