Nguyen Viet Huy, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Road Administration, announced that the automated non-stop toll collection system on these five North-South expressway projects began a 37-day trial run on 13/1. This trial ensures stable, accurate operations and sufficient revenue collection for the state budget. The Vietnam Road Administration will then decide the start date for toll collection, expected in late February, around the Lunar New Year.

Key components for these expressways, such as the intelligent transportation system (ITS) and electronic toll collection (ETC), are largely complete. This includes: cameras, software installation, and the operational control center.

Dien Chau - Bai Vot expressway through Ha Tinh. Photo: Duc Hung

According to Huy, the ITS for managing and operating the eastern North-South expressway is the first state-invested project of its kind, boasting a 99,8% accuracy rate. The ETC system utilizes a multi-lane free-flow entry model (without barriers) and a single-lane exit model (with barriers), with no manual toll lanes.

Toll rates will vary based on compliance with Road Law regulations. Four projects – Mai Son - National Highway 45, National Highway 45 - Nghi Son, Nghi Son - Dien Chau, and Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet – feature four lanes with discontinuous emergency lanes, thus not fully meeting the Road Law's requirements. Their minimum toll rate will be 900 VND per kilometer. In contrast, the Phan Thiet - Dau Giay expressway, which fully complies with toll collection conditions, will have a minimum rate of 1,300 VND per kilometer.

Under the road transport infrastructure asset exploitation plan approved by the Ministry of Construction, tolls will be collected on these five North-South expressway projects for 7 years. The Vietnam Road Administration is tasked with organizing this collection. After this period, the managing agency will evaluate and plan other infrastructure exploitation and management methods.

Doan Loan