The Minister of Transportation was questioned by congressmen this morning, mainly about problems with toll collection and the slow pace of some road projects.

Minister Ho Nghia Dung.

The question and answer session this morning was opened by deputy Chu Son Ha. Ha asked the Transportation Minister why Lang – Hoa Lac highway had so many pot-holes but the ministry still collected a toll. This highway is a six-lane road which links Hanoi’s centre to Ha Tay district.

“This is a new road in Hanoi and it is irrational to have a toll station there. We are asking the government to close the station,” the minister said.

Deputy Tran Tien Canh questioned Dung about why only 21 toll stations on the National Highway had been auctioned. Some stations are poorly organised, causing traffic jams on the highway.

Deputy Tran Thi Nga also asked the Transportation Minister why there were several toll stations on a short section of road on National Highway 1.

Dung explained that there are two types of toll stations, one run by the government and one by road investors. As state-run toll stations are criticised for ineffective operation, the government has decided to auction toll collecting rights to private firms. He said only 21 toll stations on National Highway 1 had been auctioned because the auctions must be implemented according to a roadmap.

About traffic jams at some toll stations on National Highway 1, for example Nam Cau Gie, the minister said that this toll station only sold one-way tickets to prevent counterfeit tickets. “We will gradually modernise toll stations so that vehicles will need only one stop to buy tickets for several trips,” he added.

The Chairman of the National Assembly’s Defence and Security Committee, Le Quang Binh, asked why the Law on Road Traffic didn’t have any regulation on toll levels. Why do some toll stations collect fees double those of others?

Deputy Tran Thi Nga said the current toll is too high. “Travelling from the north to the south, a truck has to pay 1.3 million dong in tolls,” Nga said. “Because the tolls are so high, they (truck drivers) have to dodge toll booths. The high tolls also affect the prices of goods and transportation.”

Dung said if they collected tolls under the government’s policy, it would take road investors 30-40 years to recover their investment, while investment capital in road projects is huge. That is the reason for toll stations run by investors collecting high tolls, double those of state-owned stations.

National Assembly deputies also grilled the Transportation Minister about the slow pace of construction on National Highway 32, which connects Hanoi’s hub to the capital’s western area. The minister explained that his ministry is the project developer but the Hanoi authorities are responsible for site clearance. When site clearance is slow, construction is slow, too.

He said that in a recent meeting, Deputy Prime Minister suggested the Ministry of Transportation hand over this project to Hanoi authorities and the transfer would be implemented soon.

“If site clearance is carried out well, builders will need only six months to finalise construction,” Dung said.

Deputies also questioned the Transportation Minister about another road project, the belt road No. 3 for Hanoi. However, the minister didn’t have clear answers for this.

The National Assembly Standing Committee will question two other cabinet members this afternoon and tomorrow, Minister of Information and Communications Le Doan Hop and the Minister of Home Affairs Tran Van Tuan.

PV