ĐỒNG NAI — Toll fee at the Biên Hòa Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) booth in Biên Hòa City will be slashed by 20 per cent from November 1 this year, according to the Việt Nam Road Administration (VRA) under the Ministry of Transport.

Nguyễn Văn Huyện, VRA general director, said the agency has completed negotiations with the toll booth investor on reducing the fee.

The transport ministry has given its nod to decreasing the fee by some VNĐ10,000 (40 US cents) per vehicle.

The toll fee each time will range from VNĐ25,000 ($1.1) to VNĐ150,000 ($6.5) per vehicle depending on vehicle type.

Monthly toll fee will be between VNĐ750,000 ($33) and VNĐ4.5 million ($196) per vehicle depending on vehicle type, while quarterly fee will be between VNĐ2.02 million ($88) and VNĐ12.15 million ($528) per vehicle.

"The VRA has asked BOT booths to let drivers go through without paying for some hours in case there are crowds and protests by drivers and residents,” Huyện said.

Regarding waiving of toll for residents living near the booth, the People’s Committee of Đồng Nai Province has asked local authorities at district and commune levels and relevant agencies to study residents’ means of transport to propose further solutions.

The VRA has also reviewed 54 BOT booths nationwide with the purpose of slashing fees, however, negotiations will take time, he said.

Earlier, drivers protesting against the hike in toll collection at the Biên Hòa station used small currency notes to pay fee, causing a standstill and traffic congestion at the booth.

Đồng Nai Province’s People’s Committee said toll fee of VNĐ35,000 ($1.5) each time for cars with less than 12 seats is quite high compared with the booths at Đồng Nai Bridge (VNĐ15,000) or Highway No.51 (VNĐ20,000).

The committee proposed to the transport ministry to reduce the toll fee and road use fee for locals.

Since Thursday afternoon, the booth is open for free to ensure security and order.

Biên Hòa BOT booth is collecting fee for a bypass project of Biên Hòa City and a project to upgrade the section of National Highway No. 1 passing through Đồng Nai Province.

Đồng Thuận Investment Joint Stock Company invested more than VNĐ1.5 trillion ($65.2 million) in the booth. The payback period is expected to be 10 years

It is considered a key project to help reduce traffic congestion and accidents in the inner city of Biên Hòa. — VNS