Gas station on Hanoi – Lao Cai highway temporarily closed: Many customers were caught off guard

Many drivers were surprised when this gas station temporarily closed.

Don't know gas station closed

According to the reporter of CAND Newspaper, the gas station with the sign "Petro Tu Luc 1" located in the rest stop area Km171+500 in the direction from Lao Cai to Hanoi is currently in a state of suspension. Dust and trash are scattered all over the area. At the time (April 13), this gas station only had one young man sitting there with the task of informing customers about the temporary suspension of the gas station.

Driver Nguyen Minh Nhat (Song Lo district, Vinh Phuc province) said, after traveling nearly 120km from Sa Pa to here, I stopped at this rest stop to let the passengers rest and at the same time refueled, but was quite surprised because this gas station had stopped operating. Luckily, there was still enough fuel in the car to move to the next rest stop.

Similarly, Mr. Ho Dang (from Binh Dinh) driving a container truck from Kim Thanh border gate ( Lao Cai ) did not know that this gas station was temporarily closed, so he still drove his truck in to get more fuel. However, he could not get fuel, so Mr. Dang just went to the "truck restaurant" to eat and rest before continuing his journey. According to Mr. Dang, the fact that this gas station is not operating on the highway is a big challenge for drivers, especially inexperienced drivers. For those like him, who are long-distance drivers with a lot of experience, they should prepare early, but for many inexperienced drivers, it is easy to encounter trouble.

As shared by Mr. Ho Dang, in the case of Mr. Nguyen Van Hung (in Duy Tien, Ha Nam province), after driving his car to this rest stop to fill up with oil but was unable to, he had to ask someone to buy 20 liters of oil for him. According to Mr. Hung, before entering this gas station, about 20km away, his car's fuel warning light was on. Therefore, Mr. Hung did not dare to continue and had to accept paying more money to ask someone to buy it for him.

Mr. Ho Dang drove from the center of Lao Cai city to Petro Tu Luc 1 store to fill up with oil, but the store was temporarily closed.

According to the reporter's records, in less than an hour, hundreds of vehicles turned into the rest stop to fill up with gas and oil. Talking to the reporter, many drivers turned into this gas station and said that before they drove off the highway to enter the station, they did not see any sign that the gas station was closed. Only when they got closer did they see a notice that the gas station was temporarily closed. Everyone thought that with the distance from the center to this rest stop of about 100km, it was an ideal location for customers to stop, refuel, and then continue their journey.

Disclose the violation

During the investigation, it was learned that the Km171+500 rest stop belongs to the Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC), and the investor is 27-7 Thanh Xuan Joint Stock Company. After investing in the construction of the facility at this rest stop, 27-7 Thanh Xuan Joint Stock Company leased it to Hung Yen Petroleum Joint Stock Company for a period of 10 years (from July 22, 2017 to July 22, 2027) and Hung Yen Petroleum Joint Stock Company has paid the entire rental amount.

During its operation, on October 30, 2019, Hung Yen Petroleum Joint Stock Company signed a business association contract with Tu Luc Petroleum Joint Stock Company to jointly operate a petrol station at the above address Km171+500. This petrol station named "Petro Tu Luc 1" has been licensed by the Department of Industry and Trade of Yen Bai province to operate stably since then.

Speaking to reporters over the phone, Mr. Nguyen Van Tiu - General Director of Tu Luc 1 Joint Stock Company said that recently, 27-7 Thanh Xuan Joint Stock Company, citing maintenance as an excuse, requested the Tu Luc gas station (Petro Tu Luc 1) to remove all gasoline and oil from the tank and move all office equipment out for maintenance and refurbishment.

Just standing at this gas station observing for less than 1 hour, the reporter recorded hundreds of cars coming into the station with the need to pump more gas and oil.

Specifically, on March 13 and 14, 2025, this gas station temporarily suspended operations to create conditions for the investor to carry out maintenance and repair of the gas station premises and the office area of ​​the store. However, after that, 27-7 Thanh Xuan Joint Stock Company arbitrarily closed, sealed the gas station and did not hand over the gas station after the maintenance was completed. Not only that, it also cut off the electricity, hindering the business of Tu Luc 1 gas station.

“The sudden, unreasonable and unannounced obstruction by 27-7 Thanh Xuan Company has directly caused serious damage to the revenue and reputation of Petro Tu Luc 1 and Hung Yen Petroleum Joint Stock Company; affecting the supply chain, customers and financial obligations. More seriously, the rights of many customers using vehicles to come here to fill up with gasoline and oil are not guaranteed, making them upset and causing misunderstandings that the employees of the two businesses are making things difficult for them,” said a representative of Tu Luc 1 gas station.

Regarding the incident, CAND Newspaper reporters contacted the leaders of 27-7 Thanh Xuan Joint Stock Company to clarify the information of the incident, but did not receive any response from this investor.

Speaking with CAND reporters, a VEC representative said that according to the report of the field monitoring unit (VEC M), VEC also recorded that the Tu Luc 1 gas station at Rest Stop No. 4, Km171 +500 on the Hanoi - Lao Cai expressway is temporarily suspending sales.

In addition to this, VEC also received information from monitoring units showing that, through the actual operation of the rest stop on the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway, VEC recorded violations of the terms of the Contract of Thanh Xuan 27/7 Joint Stock Company - Rest Stop 171+500 and assessed in documents sent to the Investor, this is a serious violation of the Contract signed between the two Parties, such as: construction of works, planting trees not included in the documents agreed with VEC.

Also according to information from VEC, Rest Stop No. 4, Km171 +500 of Hanoi - Lao Cai Expressway is planned to be equivalent to a type 1 rest stop, and is required to have a petrol station according to National Technical Regulation QCVN 43:2012/BGTVT and Amendment 01:2024 QCQG 43:2012/BGTVT - National technical regulation on road rest stops. Therefore, to ensure the rights of road users on the expressway, it is recommended that the investor of this Rest Stop soon put the petrol station back into operation in accordance with regulations.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/Giao-thong/cay-xang-tren-cao-toc-ha-noi--lao-cai-tam-dung-hoat-dong-nhieu-khach-hang-khong-kip-tro-tay-i766373/