Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called for a focused effort to deal with the shortcomings that have been plaguing toll road projects recently, while at a meeting with the Ministry of Transport (MOT) on April 23.
He stated that the policy is both necessary and correct in order to mobilise private resources to build road infrastructure under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model, given the state’s limited budget.
The Government leader said that the transport ministry should address the issues concerning the toll collection duration and charges, and especially the elimination of unreasonable costs.
According to the MOT, a review of toll road projects shows the actual costs were 20% lower than the approved estimates.
PM Phuc added that it is necessary to ensure the people understand and support the policy of building roads using non-state funds while calling for efforts to ensure social order at toll stations.
Also at the meeting, the PM agreed with the plan to roll out electronic toll collection and asked the transport ministry to soon announce the roadmap so that road users can supervise the implementation progress.
He emphasised the need of an open bidding process when selecting the providers of technology for automatic toll collection.
In March, the MOT said that it plans to raise the number of toll plazas with electronic tolling systems to 35 by the end of the year.
Source: NDO
