Vietnam’s highway investment rate one of highest worldwide

VietNamNet Bridge – The investment rate in highway projects in Vietnam, one of the highest in the world, has resulted in higher road taxes for Vietnamese. 

The Noi Bai – Lao Cai Highway, the longest highway in Vietnam with the length of 245 kilometers, is scheduled to open on September 21. Vehicle owners have been told that the fee will be the highest of any other road.

The fee collection applied to the vehicles travelling on the highway is quite different from others. The owners of automobiles with fewer than seven seats will have to pay fees based on the number of kilometers they travel, at VND1,000-1,500 per kilometer.

As such, a fee of VND300,000 will be charged on every vehicle with fewer than seven seats if it if travels on the highway. Meanwhile, every truck would have to pay VND1.2 million.

Under the current regulations, the road taxes set by the transport project developers must not be higher than the fees stipulated in legal documents released by the Ministry of Finance.

However, analysts have pointed out that the highest fee level in the fee frame set by the ministry is just equal to one-half of the fee that VEC, the Vietnam Expressway Corporation, plans to collect from vehicles to circulate on the Noi Bai – Lao Cai Highway.

The representatives from VEC and the Ministry of Finance explained that vehicles traveling on highways are not covered by these regulations.

VEC, a powerful special corporation, is allowed by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport to define the road taxes and fees. VEC is then responsible for giving information about fees to state management agencies.

“We have reported the planned fees to the Ministry of Finance, and the ministry does not oppose our intention. This means that we can set the fees we plan,” a senior executive of VEC, who declined to be named, said.

VEC has been collecting the fee since January 1 from vehicles travelling on certain sections of the highway.

It has also been applying similar fees on the Cau Gie – Ninh Binh Highway, with the agreement of the two ministries (the two ministries have not protested the fee collection).

The senior executive said that “enterprises do not complain about the fees” because the fees are “reasonable”. 

In the past, It took heavy trucks, 40-feet ones, 11 hours and VND7 million worth of fuel. Meanwhile, it now takes them seven hours and VND6 million worth of fuel to follow the new highway to the same destinations.

Also, according to the VEC’s senior executive, the fees will be raised or lowered in every five-year period after considering traffic capacity, socio-economic conditions, road maintenance fees and demand.

However, he said the fees are on the rise and are not likely to decrease.

This has caused concern among businesses. National Assembly deputies have often asked officials at formal meetings why Vietnam has to pay so much for highway projects. However, the Ministry of Transport never gives clear and convincing answers.

TBKTSG (http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/112205/vietnam-s-highway-investment-rate-one-of-highest-worldwide.html)