The New Toll: A Morning of Minor Traffic Jams at BOT Phu Huu

On September 17th, the Phu Huu BOT station (Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City) officially started toll collection from vehicles entering and exiting the Phu Huu Industrial Park.

According to VnExpress’s reporters, from 8 am, there was a steady stream of vehicles coming in and out of the toll station. At this time, two cars were parked for nearly 40 minutes at the two toll lanes heading out of the Phu Huu Industrial Park to protest the toll collection.

This situation caused local traffic congestion. Freight vehicles arriving at the BOT station had to queue, causing frustration among many drivers.

At around 8:40 am, with the persuasion of the authorities, the two vehicles left the toll station, and traffic gradually returned to normal.

Also, according to VnExpress’s reporters, on the same morning, some vehicles did not have enough balance in their accounts, so they could not complete the automatic transaction when passing through the station, resulting in additional processing time.

Local residents of Nguyen Thi Tu and Dang Thanh Hieu streets (Phu Huu ward, Thu Duc city) shared with VnExpress’s reporters that there are still some issues with the toll collection.

“Currently, there is no fee exemption policy for taxi drivers living inside the area. For example, a yellow-plated taxi has to pay the toll when leaving in the morning and again when returning in the evening, which is very difficult for the drivers. In addition, some drivers enter a cargo yard less than 500 meters away from the station, and each trip in and out costs 110,000 VND, which is too high and impractical,” said Mr. Minh, a local resident.

The representative of VICEM Ha Tien Cement Joint Stock Company (the investor of the BOT project to build the road connecting Nguyen Duy Trinh Street to Phu Huu Industrial Park) informed the residents that currently, according to regulations, fee exemption cases include vehicles specified in Decision No. 705 of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City and non-business vehicles with fewer than 12 seats owned by permanent or temporary residents for more than six months on Nguyen Thi Tu and Dang Thanh Hieu streets.

“In the case of business vehicles and other cases not included in the exemption, the fee must still be paid. There are some cargo yards located not far from the toll station, and each trip in and out of the yard is charged. We are aware of this issue and have reported it to the authorities. Regarding the feedback from residents living on the road, if there is a lack of paperwork, it can be supplemented later. For matters beyond our authority, we will record all the feedback and work with the City to come up with appropriate solutions, such as in the case of taxis mentioned by the residents,” said the project investor representative.

Regarding the legal basis of the project, the investor representative said that the BOT project to build the road connecting Nguyen Duy Trinh Street to Phu Huu Industrial Park (Phu Huu BOT) was signed between Xi Mang Ha Tien and Ho Chi Minh City through the city’s Department of Transport in 2012 and was completed in 2016.

“The entire road was newly constructed. During the implementation, we had to ensure compliance with the state’s regulations, with proper designs and surveys. All these steps were completed before the project was accepted by the state,” said the investor representative.

At noon on September 17th, Mr. Bui Hoa An, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, informed VnExpress’s reporters that “The Department has assigned the Road Infrastructure Management Center to survey the issues that arose on the first day of toll collection at Phu Huu BOT station. The feedback from the people will be recorded. The Department will work with the investor to consider and make appropriate adjustments.”