'Long-distance power saving' mechanism for highways

Photo caption — The western section of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway was technically opened to traffic on April 19. Photo: Linh Son/VNA

When maintenance funding still depends on annual plans and outdated standards, many experts propose the formation of a highway maintenance fund with a sustainable and stable financial mechanism for operation, maintenance and additional investment on the route so that these traffic "blood vessels" can maximize their effectiveness.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Tan, Director of Vietnam Expressway Technical Services Joint Stock Company, the unit that is managing, operating and maintaining the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway, pointed out that when participating in traffic, especially on the expressway with high speed from 90 - 120 km, it is impossible to let the road surface have defects or "potholes" or "buffalo backs" that affect the traffic safety corridor and the lives of vehicle drivers.

“Although the management, operation and exploitation units have the capacity and expertise to proactively repair damaged road surfaces, there is currently no adequate mechanism, so minor repairs and regular maintenance are not timely, leading to businesses losing a lot of money on road surface repairs. At this time, 1 dong spent on regular maintenance and minor repairs will save at least 3-5 dong on major repairs. And, if the road surface condition is not improved, it is impossible to talk about protecting the safety of people when traveling on the highway,” a representative of Vietnam Expressway Technical Services Joint Stock Company raised the issue.

Mr. Le Hong Diep, Head of Traffic Organization Management Department (Vietnam Road Administration - Ministry of Construction ) emphasized that the goal of putting 3,000 km of expressway into operation by the end of 2025 demonstrates the State's great interest and investment in traffic infrastructure. With a very large investment rate, the expressway system is a valuable infrastructure asset, it is necessary to improve investment, construction and management activities of expressway projects, from policy mechanisms to resources and implementation organization.

The management agency will review and improve policies and regulations related to construction investment to create more favorable conditions for investors and businesses. At the same time, research and improve regulations, standards and norms related to the management and operation of works, ensuring consistency and efficiency.

According to Mr. Pham Hong Quang, General Director of Vietnam Expressway Corporation, one of the reasons why the management and exploitation of expressways in Vietnam still shows many limitations is due to the unsustainable financial mechanism.

“Maintenance funding is mainly based on annual plans, lacking long-term stability and slow capital allocation, causing periodic repair packages to be delayed and damage to spread. In addition, the toll collection management mechanism still has many shortcomings, and the allocation of funds between operation, maintenance and additional investment is unreasonable,” said the General Director of the Vietnam Expressway Corporation.

Currently, unit prices and norms related to highway maintenance and operation are still lacking or have not been calculated correctly and sufficiently. "Highways require green, clean, and beautiful roads, but the current grass cutting rate of only 2-4 times/year is not realistic," Mr. Pham Huy Cuong, Head of Construction Price Department, Institute of Construction Economics (Ministry of Construction) gave an example and specifically said that identifying the missing norms for new construction. The norms need to be adjusted to suit the actual construction for application, which is still difficult and confusing.

While good management is the key to optimizing socio-economic benefits, minimizing maintenance and repair costs and protecting national assets, experts propose the formation of an independent highway maintenance fund to ensure a stable source of funding for routine repairs, unscheduled repairs and emergency response.

Representatives of the Vietnam Expressway Corporation recommended applying the Road Asset Management (RBAM) model to allocate capital effectively, based on data on the life cycle of the project and the actual level of degradation. In addition, encourage socialization and mobilization of private capital for maintenance and operation through service contracts and public-private partnerships (PPP).

On the side of Vietnam Expressway Technical Services Joint Stock Company, it is said that in order to improve the quality of management and exploitation of expressways, it is necessary to develop a plan to increase the proactiveness of maintenance units so that they can promptly pay fees for frequent damages to construction items such as traffic safety systems and road surfaces without requiring too many approval procedures.

Statistics from the National Traffic Safety Committee show that, among the 2,268 km of highways in operation and use as of September 2025, there are investment-divergent sections with many limitations: two-lane routes, no hard median strips; using emergency stopping strips instead of continuous emergency lanes; night lighting, limited visibility... when vehicles traveling on the highway have problems, especially at night...

With the goal of putting into operation 3,000 km of expressway by the end of 2025, 5,000 km of expressway by 2030 and 9,000 km by 2050, improving the quality of expressway management and exploitation is becoming more urgent, not only ensuring safety and smoothness for people and vehicles but also deciding the investment efficiency of the project's lifespan and the civilized and modern image of the national infrastructure system.