A new proposal for the reduction of toll fees, as well as the exemption of tolls for cars of 17 communes and wards located in a 10km radius of Ninh Lộc Toll Station in Khánh Hoa Province, has been submitted to the Ministry of Transport.— Photo dantri.com.vn

KHÁNH HÒA — A new proposal for the reduction of toll fees, as well as the exemption of tolls for cars of 17 communes and wards located in a 10km radius of Ninh Lộc Toll Station in Khánh Hoa Province, has been submitted to the Ministry of Transport. The proposal came as a means to relieve tension from local drivers who are protesting against what they call unfair fees.

“In the event that the ministry does not accept the proposal, the investor proposed that they would stop collecting fees from Ninh Lộc station, and asked that the government refund the investment and place the transport ministry in charge of collecting fees at the station”, Trần Phúc Tự, general director of the BOT Đèo Cả Company siad told online newspaper Vietnamplus.vn.

The previous proposal was made in January by the BOT Đèo Cả Company, an investor for a section of road on National Highway 1 in Khánh Hòa Province, but was rejected by the ministry.  

The ministry accepted toll reduction and exemption for cars from three communes located within a 5km radius of the station, and this has been the case since December last year.

However, the local people in communes and wards of Ninh Hòa Township, which has not benefited from the fee exemption, protested against having to pay toll fees at the local station.

In recent days Ninh Lộc BOT toll station has ground to a standstill due to protests by drivers, and has had to lift its barriers to allow vehicles to go through at no charge to avoid traffic congestion, reported the Người Lao Động (The Labourer) newspaper.

Many drivers at the tollgate have refused to move, causing traffic congestion, so the station has had to repeatedly stop collecting fees in order to contain the situation.

The station stopped its operation 40 times last Tuesday and Wednesday.

The situation continued to escalate as once the station resumed normal operations, drivers would gather around again, forcing it to open up all traffic lanes once more.

Most of the protesting drivers at the tollgate were living in Ninh Hòa Township. The drivers said that the tollgate collects unreasonable fees from local people, and that it is not fair that they should have to pay these fees so often.

Drivers were angry at the company as it origionally claimed to offer fee reduction or exemption for residents in 17 wards and communes of the town, but more recently reduced the number to eight.

In addition, instead of exempting drivers from the toll fee as promised, they instead provided a 50 per cent discount. This, the local people said, is not good enough.

To relieve the situation and ensure traffic safety, the company has asked the Ministry of Transport to accept the proposal of toll reduction and exemption for cars of 17 communes and wards nearby the station. — VNS