State-owned toll stations will close from 2013 when the Road Maintenance Fund starts operation, said Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong.
There are currently 57 toll gates nationwide, including 14 built with state funding and 30 others operating under Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contracts. under these the tolls collected are retained by the building contractor until the project is paid for. After being closed, the state toll booths will be used for BOT toll collection.
According to the Deputy Minister, the station shutdown is aimed to avoid overlapping toll collections once the road maintenance fund is established in 2013.
BOT toll gates will still continue operation, while seven designated state road collecting facilities will be removed from January 1 next year.
The official urged agencies to list all toll booths on national highways and local roads and classify them based on their investment capital and purpose, so that the Ministry of Transport will have separate measures to deal with them.
He also asked the Vietnam Road Administration to audit employee numbers so they can be relocated or provided with unemployment benefit.
The Hanoi Department of Transport has also proposed to the Ministry of Transport the removal of toll-collection facilities along the North Thang Long-Noi Bai and North Thang Long-Vuc De routes.