PHÚ THỌ (VNS) — Vehicles avoiding Hạc Trì Bridge in the northern province of Phú Thọ have affected the recovery of investments made, a representative of Việt Trì Bridge BOT Joint Stock Company said.

According to the company which is responsible for collecting toll for the bridge, it loses VNĐ100 million (US$4,400) each day because vehicle owners avoid the bridge due to the high toll they have to pay.

Under a contract with the Ministry of Transport, all vehicles were supposed to ply on Hạc Trì Bridge from last December. The signalling system for traffic management was also installed on the bridge.

However, the truth is that a large number of cars continue to use the Việt Trì Bridge, which is the old bridge leading to the centre of Việt Trì city, the company official said.

It has caused traffic chaos, and problems of safety for car owners who obey traffic rules, he said.

Local residents have also complained of the high fee and said they have to travel far to the centre of Việt Trì City if they have to use the new bridge.

To solve this issue, the company agreed to reduce 80 per cent of fee for local residents.

The provincial People’s Committee recently requested the Ministry of Transport and the fee collection company for a fee reduction for an under 7-seater vehicle.

But the company has no plans to reduce the fee as it would affect the recovery of investment capital, the company’s representative said.

Numerous meetings between investors, local authorities, and the Ministry of Transport were held to find the most reasonable plan, but they could not reach a settlement. Meanwhile, vehicles continue to run on the old bridge, leading to its increasing damage.

Hạc Trì Bridge was built on November 2013 and put to use on December 2015 under the build-operate-transfer model.

The lowest fee is VNĐ35,000 ($1.5) per car of less than 12 seats. The highest is VNĐ180,000 ($8) per truck weighing over 18 tonnes. — VNS