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| A traffic jam occurs at the Cai Lậy toll station in Tiền Giang Province on Sunday after drivers voiced their disagreement with the high fee by using small currency notes to pay toll fee at the station. — Photo dantri.com.vn |
Viet Nam News
TIỀN GIANG — A representative of the Việt Nam Road Administration (VNRA) on Monday worked with the Mekong Delta province of Tiền Giang’s Department of Transportation on the problem related to the local Cai Lậy toll station.
At the meeting, Trần Văn Bon, the department’s director, asked the road administration to report the situation to the Ministry of Transport (MoT) to have a plan for reducing fee at the station.
The move came after many drivers complained about the high fee at the Build-Operate-Transfer toll stations.
According to the Dân Trí online newspaper, drivers used small currency notes to pay toll fee at the Cai Lậy toll station on Sunday afternoon, causing traffic to come to a standstill and resulting in difficulties for fee collectors.
The drivers’ action was their way of voicing their disagreement with the high fee at the toll station that officially began operation about two weeks ago.
The drivers shouted and blew their horns to force officials at the toll station to open the gates. Many locals also joined in cheering for the drivers.
The station’s officials were forced to open the gates to avoid traffic jams.
Nguyễn Mạnh Thắng, deputy general director of VNRA, said feedback and suggestions related to the Cai Lậy toll station would be reported to the ministry to address shortcomings.
"Investors are allowed to collect fees after the toll stations were put into use. However, they also must ensure harmonisation between the capital recovery under contracts signed between them and State agencies, the interests of the people, as well as traffic order and safety throughout the entire route," Thắng said.
About the driver’s response to the inappropriate location of the Cai Lậy toll station, Thắng said that before building, the station had been researched and consulted upon with local authorities and ministries.
According to him, the proposal to reduce fee at the Cai Lậy station is feasible. — VNS
