HÀ NỘI – The Ministry of Transport has asked the Directorate for Roads of Việt Nam (DRVN) to recover nearly VNĐ1.2 billion (US$52,170) from the Bắc Thăng Long – Nội Bài Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) toll booth, which was lost because station management exempted some drivers from paying tolls.

According to the ministry, the Highway 2 BOT Joint Stock Company incorrectly handed out exemptions to 2,083 vehicles, allowing them to repeatedly pass through the toll booth without paying.

Fee reductions for drivers living in neighbouring areas must be made following the regulations of the Ministry of Transport (MoT) and current laws, the ministry said.

The ministry also accepted DRVN’s proposal to exempt drivers who live within 10km of the toll station.

Late last year, drivers protested the inappropriate location of the BOT toll station. The station collects fees to refund the capital invested in a BOT project on the transition section of National Highway 2 in Vĩnh Yên, Vĩnh Phúc Province. However, the station is located on Võ Văn Kiệt Street in Hà Nội.

The drivers asked for the station’s relocation to Vĩnh Yên because they are being asked to pay the toll even if they do not take the road it is meant to fund.

The situation turned chaotic and the station had to be opened several times for traffic to flow through freely after drivers stopped their cars and refused to pay or move.

The BOT project’s investment capital will be refunded through fee collection over a period of more than 16 years.

Following the controversy and the robbery of Giầu Dây toll station in the southern province of Đồng Nai on February 7, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has requested the MoT and relevant agencies strictly control toll collection at BOT toll booths nationwide.

The MoT, People’s Committees in provinces and cities and relevant agencies are also required to deploy electronic toll collection systems. – VNS