From December 1st, 2024, seven wards of the former Cua Lo town and four communes of Nghi Loc district were officially merged into Vinh City. Residents there wished to benefit from the free toll policy at Ben Thuy 1 toll station, similar to Vinh City residents. However, this request was not granted.

Mr. Dang Tien Trung (born in 1986, residing in Cua Lo town) expressed his frustration: "For many years, residents of Vinh City have been exempt from tolls at the Ben Thuy 1 toll station. We, who have recently been merged into the city and are also citizens of Vinh City, still have to pay. We have submitted a petition, but the company has not accepted it."

On February 14th, in an interview with VietNamNet reporters, a representative of the BOT branch of the Vinh City bypass ( thuộc Cienco 4 Group) stated that the unit had requested the Vietnam Road Administration not to implement price reductions at the Ben Thuy 1 toll station for vehicles belonging to residents and businesses in the 7 wards (Nghi Hai, Nghi Hoa, Nghi Huong, Nghi Thu, Nghi Thuy, Nghi Tan, Thu Thuy) and 4 communes (Nghi Thai, Nghi Phong, Nghi Xuan, Phuc Tho) that were recently merged into Vinh City.

The Vietnam Road Administration subsequently sent a document to the People's Committees of Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces agreeing on this matter.

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The toll station at Ben Thuy 1 Bridge connects Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces. Photo: Thien Luong

Explaining this, a representative of the BOT branch for the Vinh City bypass said that since the North-South expressway was built, the revenue of the Ben Thuy 1 toll station has decreased by half.

"Previously, before the North-South Expressway became operational, daily revenue was 1 billion VND. After the expressway opened, revenue decreased by half. If we offer free passage to residents of Cua Lo and the four surrounding communes, our revenue will be affected. We hope the people will share this difficulty," said a representative of the BOT branch of the Vinh City bypass.

Furthermore, according to regulations, the discount only applies to a radius of 5km around the toll station, or 10km for special projects. Meanwhile, Cua Lo and the four communes in Nghi Loc district are too far from the station.

"In 2017, the Ministry of Transport stipulated that when reducing tolls at toll stations, the financial plan, scope, and distance of the reduction must be ensured. The normal distance should not exceed 5km, except in special cases where a reduction of 10km is allowed. According to our survey, Cua Lo and the four communes all exceed this distance," a representative of the BOT branch of the Vinh City bypass added.

The representative also stated that people can choose to travel across the Cua Hoi bridge, which is a shorter distance and free of charge.

Previously, in 2017, residents protested against the Ben Thuy 1 toll station, arguing that they were still being charged fees even though they did not use the Vinh City bypass. Following this, authorities and the investor agreed to reduce the toll by 100% for vehicles belonging to residents of Vinh City, Hung Nguyen district (Nghe An province), Hong Linh town and Nghi Xuan district (Ha Tinh province).

The BOT project for the National Highway 1 bypass through Vinh City, invested by Cienco 4 Group, is 25.8km long with a total investment of 378 billion VND, collecting tolls for capital recovery at the Ben Thuy 1 toll station. In 2012, the Ben Thuy 2 bridge was completed, and the investor continued to collect tolls at the Ben Thuy 2 bridge toll station, while simultaneously implementing the project to expand National Highway 1 from south of Ben Thuy - bypassing Ha Tinh City.

The new project is over 35km long, with a total investment of over 2.43 trillion VND. The investor will continue to collect tolls to recover the investment at Ben Thuy 1 and 2 toll stations. According to information from Cienco 4, the expected toll collection period is over 29 years (starting from 2005). Monthly revenue from these two stations averages approximately 20 billion VND. The remaining toll collection period is expected to be over 10 years.