QUẢNG BÌNH – People’s Committee of the central Quảng Bình Province has proposed to reduce fees collected whilst increase the fee collection period at the tollbooth at km604+700 and at the Quán Hàu tollbooth on Highway 1 that passes through this province.

Nguyễn Hữu Hoài, chairman of the People’s Committee, said the province had twice proposed to the finance and transport ministries to reduce the fees collected at these tollbooths by 40-50 per cent for the under nine-seater automobiles and the under two-tonne lorries with Quảng Bình number plates.

After receiving guidance from the Ministry of Transport, the Trường Thịnh Group, which manages the Quán Hàu tollbooth, and the Tasco Joint-Stock Company, which manages the tollbooth at km604+700 in Quảng Trạch District, said during the past few months they had received proposals from different organisations and individuals in the province to reduce the fees. But if the fees were reduced in accordance with the proposal, the companies would not recover the cost of investment.

The Quảng Bình People’s Committee then asked the province’s Department of Transport to count the number of vehicles passing through the tollbooths. It was revealed some 105 automobiles passed the tollbooth managed by the Tasco Company each day. If the proposal to reduce the toll by VNĐ15,000 (70 US cents) per vehicle was introduced, fee collection would reduce by VNĐ570 million ($25,300) per year.

Some 425 automobiles also passed the Quán Hàu tollbooth each day. If the proposal to reduce the toll by VNĐ15,000 per vehicle was accepted, fee collection would be reduced by VNĐ2.3 billion ($102,200) per year.

The time duration for collecting fees should, therefore, be increased to make up for the difference when fees at the two tollbooths were slashed, Hoài said.

Hoài said tollbooths had been put up at the gates of Quảng Ninh and Quảng Trạch districts. As a result, several personal vehicles belonging to local residents that passed the booths each day had to pay the fees even though they travelled only a short stretch.

Since the beginning of this year, the fee charged on each vehicle had increased 3.5 times higher than the normal level (around VNĐ35,000 or $1.5 per vehicle), which was very high when compared with residents’ income, he said.

Some local residents had blocked the Quán Hàu tollbooth twice to protest, causing traffic jams on Highway 1. — VNS