Studying management and operation options for 3 expressways.

(Dong Nai) - On August 11th, according to the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee, the Ministry of Construction issued Document No. 8105/BXD-KHTC to the Vietnam Road Administration and the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities regarding the study and proposal of a toll collection mechanism for expressway construction projects funded jointly by central and local budgets.

The Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway project is one of three projects in Dong Nai province invested under a joint venture between the central and local budgets. Photo: Pham Tung

Accordingly, the province currently has three expressways funded jointly by the central and local budgets for investment: Bien Hoa - Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City - Chon Thanh, and Ring Road 3 - Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the Ministry of Construction , in accordance with Clause 3, Article 50 and Clause 1, Article 84 of the Road Law, the Ministry of Transport (now the Ministry of Construction) has developed and submitted to the Government for promulgation Decree No. 130/2024/ND-CP dated October 10, 2024, regulating the collection of tolls for the use of expressways for vehicles traveling on expressways owned by the state and directly managed and operated by the state as the representative owner.

For highway construction investment projects assigned by the National Assembly and the Government to localities for investment in the form of joint ventures between central and local budgets, the National Assembly resolution stipulates: "The Government shall direct the Ministry of Transport to preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to develop a plan for recovering investment capital for the project, returning it to the central and local budgets according to the proportion of capital contributed to the project."

During the drafting process of the decree regulating the collection of tolls on state-owned expressways, the Ministry of Construction studied a plan to divide the revenue to be reimbursed to the central and local budgets according to the proportion of the project's investment capital.

However, due to inconsistencies with legal regulations on fees, this provision has not been included in Decree No. 130. Therefore, the option of capital repayment based on the proportion of investment in the project needs to be further studied and proposed in the Project on Exploitation of Road Infrastructure Assets as stipulated in Government Decree 44/2024/ND-CP dated April 24, 2024, regulating the management, use, and exploitation of road infrastructure assets.

Therefore, the Ministry of Construction has assigned the Vietnam Road Administration to proactively work with local authorities to review the project's implementation progress, agree on a plan for organizing the management, operation, and toll collection for expressway construction projects where the state is the representative owner and directly manages and operates them. The toll revenue collected will be divided between the central and local budgets for projects invested under the joint-venture model between the central and local budgets, and reported to the Prime Minister, thus finalizing legal regulations as directed by the National Assembly.

Pham Tung

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202508/nghien-cuu-phuong-an-quan-ly-khai-thac-3-tuyen-duong-cao-toc-97c1237/