On the same day that a 20-km section of the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway is opened to traffic, scheduled for December 30, 2013, traffic fees on the section will be collected, the Vietnam Express Development Corporation (VEC) said on Thursday.
On the same day that a 20-km section of the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway is opened to traffic, scheduled for December 30, 2013, traffic fees on the section will be collected, the Vietnam Express Development Corporation (VEC) said on Thursday.
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| The expressways section that is scheduled to open to traffic on December 30, 2013 |
Accordingly, vehicles travelling on the section, which runs from Belt 2 in District 9 to National Highway 51, will have to pay tolls at different rates, depending on the type of vehicle, from December 30.
For vehicles with under 12 seats, trucks with loads under 2 tons, and buses, the toll will be VND40,000 (US$1.93) per vehicle; for vehicles with 12-30 seats and trucks with loads of 2-4 tons, the fee will be VND60,000; and for vehicles with 31 seats or more and trucks with loads of 4-10 tons, the charge will be VND80,000.
However, trucks with loads of over 10 tons will not be allowed on the section for a certain period after the section is opened to traffic, VEC said.
This is because the construction of Beltway 2, which is connected to the section, has just completed its first phase and thereby does not yet meet safety conditions for trucks entering the expressway from this beltway, said VEC deputy general Nguyen Van Nhi.
The minimum and maximum speeds on the expressway are stipulated to be 60 kph and 100 kph respectively, Nhi said.
The section enables traffic to go in both directions, with three 3-4 meter wide lanes in each direction. It has a lighting system, green tree lines, and sign boards.
When the 20-km section is put into operation, it will take drivers only two hours, instead of the current three hours, to go from HCMC to Vung Tau.
The entire expressway is 55 km long, running from the city through Long Thanh Town in Dong Nai Province to reach Dau Giay Town, also in Dong Nai. The total investment in the road is about VND20.63 trillion (US$973.1 million).
According to the approved financial plan for the expressway, the lowest toll rate is VND2,000 per kilometer and the duration for toll collection is 20 years, said Vu Tuan Anh, VEC general director.
When asked why the toll rates on the HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay rates are higher than those on the HCMC-Trung Luong expressway, which links the city to Tien Giang and Long An provinces, Anh explained that the former was built with foreign loans while the latter was constructed with domestic financial sources.
(Source:Tuoitrenews)
