Using expressways to fund expressways

The policy of "using expressways to fund expressways" for expressways owned by the people and directly managed and operated by the State is gradually being concretized through legal documents, with the Ministry of Transport (MOT) recently submitting to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval the Draft Decree on toll collection for expressways.

This is a legal document guiding the Road Law (effective from January 1, 2025) related to the collection of tolls on expressways, which the Government assigned the Ministry of Transport to lead the development of using a simplified procedure.

In its latest draft of the Decree, the Ministry of Transport stated that it has completed the process of gathering feedback from affected agencies, organizations, and individuals, and that the Ministry of Justice has convened a meeting of the Draft Appraisal Council.

Reportedly, the draft Decree consists of 4 chapters, 13 articles, and 1 appendix, aiming to regulate the conditions and timing for collecting tolls on expressways; the regime for collecting, paying, exempting, managing, and using tolls on expressways; and the toll rates for expressways under the management of the Ministry of Transport.

The current toll rates for expressways proposed by the Ministry of Transport are considered to meet the government's requirements of harmonizing the interests of the state and the people, and being consistent with the affordability of expressway users.

It should be added that the policy of charging tolls on state-invested expressways had been studied and proposed by the Government and the Ministry of Transport for consideration and issuance by competent authorities 3 to 4 years prior, even when the sections of the North-South Expressway in the East using public investment capital were still under construction. However, it was only after the National Assembly enacted the Road Law that the policy of charging tolls on expressways invested with state budget capital to create funds for maintenance, repair, and reinvestment for expansion reached maturity, especially in terms of political and legal basis.

The process of investing in, constructing, and developing Vietnam's expressway system, along with the experiences of countries in the region and the world, shows that investing in the development of expressways is an objective necessity, creating an important driving force in the socio-economic development of localities, regions, and the entire country; helping to enhance national competitiveness, ensure national defense and security, and alleviate poverty... However, investing in an expressway system requires very large costs for construction, management, operation, and maintenance.

In the coming period, the need for new investment capital for planned expressways is significant, while investment resources from the state budget remain limited. In addition, the annual maintenance budget for the national highway system currently only meets about 40% of the needs.

Therefore, the exploitation of state-owned highway infrastructure plays a crucial role in providing the State with additional resources for maintaining existing highways, as well as for investing in new highway projects. At the same time, it contributes to improving the quality of transportation infrastructure and ensuring services commensurate with the tolls on these highways.

Furthermore, with the current rapid growth in the number and diversity of vehicles and modes of transport, implementing toll collection on expressways will contribute to regulating traffic flow, reducing pressure on vehicle density, minimizing traffic safety risks, increasing the lifespan of infrastructure, and reducing maintenance costs on expressways and parallel roads.

It should also be added that, at the time the Road Law comes into effect, the whole country will have approximately 15 state-invested expressways with a total length of about 1,000 km in operation. If a legal document on toll collection for state-invested expressways is not issued within the next few months, it will certainly be a waste of a significant national resource.

Therefore, along with promoting the early issuance of the decree on expressway toll collection, the Ministry of Transport also needs to urgently prepare resources to build toll station infrastructure and quickly implement expressway toll collection. In addition, the state management agency for transport must promptly develop a plan for information dissemination and public awareness campaigns on the contents and regulations of the decree, helping agencies, organizations, and the public understand and grasp the legal regulations in a timely manner. This will create high social consensus so that the policy of "using expressways to fund expressways" can be implemented effectively and achieve the expected results.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/lay-cao-toc-nuoi-cao-toc-d223032.html