NAM ĐỊNH — Mỹ Lộc Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) toll station in the northern province of Nam Định has re-opened to traffic from 6am on Wednesday after being closed for seven months.

It stopped collecting tolls in July last year due to protests from drivers over fee hikes.

The collector, TASCO Joint Stock Company, has published toll prices and a list of vehicles which will have fees waived.

The tolls for cars with fewer than 12 seats, trucks weighing less than two tonnes and buses have been slashed from VNĐ30,000 (US$1.3) to VNĐ15,000 ($0.7).

Cars with between 12 and 30 seats and trucks weighing from two to four tonnes will pay VNĐ25,000 ($1.1) instead of VNĐ40,000 ($1.7).

Trucks weighing 10 to 18 tonnes and 20-feet containers have had tolls reduced from VNĐ100,000 ($4.4) to VNĐ60,000 ($2.6).

Non-business drivers whose houses are located within a 3km radius of the station will have fees waived.

Vehicles of State officers working in Mỹ Lộc District, State-owned cars of agencies located in the district, garbage trucks and local buses will also be exempt from the fee.

A representative of Nam Định Province’s Transport Department said vehicles travelling from Nam Định Province to Hà Nam Province and Hà Nội and vice versa can choose to either take the route through Mỹ Lộc toll station or take Highway No.21 to avoid the toll booth.

A Vietnam News Agency correspondent reported from the site that the first morning since the reopening of the booth had gone smoothly.

Drivers think the new toll is appropriate. The collector has opened lanes for non-stop electronic toll service.

The Mỹ Lộc toll station is located on the route connecting Highway No.10 and Mỹ Lộc Town with investment of more than VND487.7 billion ($20.7 million).

The station is planned to operate until 2027 to recoup the investment.

In a related move, the Việt Nam Road Administration will inspect toll collection of Ninh Lộc BOT station in central province of Khánh Hòa.

The inspection will be from March 20 until March 27 and conducted by the Ministry of Public Security, the Khánh Hòa Province’s Tax Department, local authorities and representatives of the investor.

The inspection has been proposed by the investor, Đèo Cả Khánh Hòa Investment Joint Stock Company, in order to make toll collection transparent and allow residents to supervise the collection.

Residents living around the station have raised doubts over the toll transparency.

On February 26, a group of 10 local residents approached the station and asked to count the number of vehicles themselves, blocking traffic.

The BOT Ninh Lộc station collects fees for the Highway No.1 expansion project running though Khánh Hòa Province and was opened to traffic in late 2015. — VNS