Proposal to charge tolls on the Eastern section of the North-South Expressway.

TPO - The Ministry of Construction has just proposed to the Government to consider and allow the collection of tolls on sections of the North-South Expressway in the East that are invested in by the State, in order to reimburse the central budget. During the toll collection process, based on the actual situation, the expressway sections will be expanded using the public-private partnership (PPP) method.

According to the Ministry of Construction 's proposal, the toll collection for publicly invested expressways is expected to begin in January 2026. If an investor is selected to expand the North-South Expressway (Eastern section) to 6-12 lanes using the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) method, the toll collection will be handed over to the investor.

Based on the actual situation, the toll collection process will involve expanding sections of the expressway using the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) method. This will include considering and studying the option of forming several large-scale projects (in the northern and southern regions).

"This approach ensures consistency and uniformity throughout the entire investment process, optimizes management, operation, and exploitation costs throughout the project's lifespan, and has the potential to attract investors with strong financial capabilities who are willing to partner with the project long-term," the Ministry of Construction's proposal emphasized.

According to the Ministry of Construction's proposal, the timing for expanding the expressway should be considered after the contractors have completed their warranty periods for previous public investment projects. This aims to avoid legal disputes and prevent public misunderstanding regarding the re-construction of recently completed sections.

The Ministry of Construction has proposed collecting tolls on sections of the North-South Expressway (Eastern route) invested by the State, starting in January 2026. Photo: Nam Khanh.

The North-South Expressway Eastern section has a total length of approximately 2,063km. It starts at Huu Nghi Border Gate in Lang Son province and ends in Ca Mau city, with a scale of 6-12 lanes. To date, 1,443km of the entire route has been put into operation, with approximately 597km under construction (554km to be completed by the end of 2025, leaving 43km remaining), mainly with limited 4-lane capacity.

Currently, in addition to the sections being expanded, by the end of this year there will be approximately 1,222km of expressways with a limited 4-lane capacity, mainly concentrated in the following sections: Mai Son - Cam Lo, Quang Ngai - Vinh Hao, and My Thuan - Ca Mau. Furthermore, some sections of the project are being studied and developed for investment as full-scale expressways, such as: Cau Gie - Ninh Binh , Cao Bo - Mai Son, Cam Lo - La Son, La Son - Hoa Lien, Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh, and Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong - My Thuan.

The Ministry of Transport and Construction has proposed prioritizing the expansion of sections of the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City route to meet expressway standards. To avoid multiple investments, the Ministry of Construction proposes that the expanded section achieve a full six lanes as planned, with a total investment of over 152,100 billion VND.

Loc Lien

Source: https://tienphong.vn/de-xuat-thu-phi-cao-toc-bac-nam-phia-dong-post1753136.tpo