On the afternoon of March 15th, during the 31st session, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly discussed and provided feedback on the explanation, absorption, and revision of the draft Road Law.
Regarding the major issues related to the explanation, absorption, and revision of the draft Road Law, Chairman of the National Defense and Security Committee Le Tan Toi stated that there are suggestions to stipulate that the minimum number of lanes for a highway must be 4 lanes and there must be an emergency lane.
The Standing Committee of the National Defense and Security Committee deems these suggestions to be valid. However, the construction of highways still depends on budget balancing and resource mobilization.
Chairman of the National Defense and Security Committee Le Tan Toi
Additionally, this is a matter pertaining to technical standards and regulations, which will be further studied and specified by the Ministry of Transport. Therefore, the Standing Committee of the National Defense and Security Committee proposes not to specifically regulate these matters in the draft Law.
Regarding the toll fees for expressways, there are suggestions to assess the necessity and stipulate the toll fees for the use of expressways invested, owned, managed, and operated by the State.
The Standing Committee of the National Defense and Security Committee agrees with this content in the draft Government Law and suggests amending and supplementing provisions of the Fees and Charges Law as stipulated in Article 90 of the draft Law.
According to Article 47 of the draft submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee, the expressway is a technical level of the road, only for motor vehicles, with a median barrier separating two lanes for running in separate directions, no intersections at the same level with other roads, and equipped with protective fences and facilities to ensure continuous and safe traffic, shorten travel time, only allowing motor vehicles to enter and exit at certain points.
The draft Road Law specifies that the Ministry of Transport is responsible for the expressways under the national highway system. The provincial People’s Committee is responsible for the expressways under the provincial and urban road systems. The draft proposes 2 options:
Option 1: Based on the requirements for regional economic and social development, local defense and security, and the resource allocation capabilities of the locality, the provincial People’s Committee proposes that the Ministry of Transport assign the provincial People’s Committee to handle the expressways under the national highway system.
Option 2: Based on the requirements for regional economic and social development, local defense and security, and the resource allocation capabilities of the locality, the provincial People’s Committee proposes that the Prime Minister assign the provincial People’s Committee to handle the expressways under the national highway system.
