Vehicles pass through the Hanoi Highway tollgate in HCMC. As sufficient revenue has been recovered, the Hanoi Highway toll collection activities have been suspended. (Photo: Le Anh)
The directorate noted in a recent report to the Ministry of Transport that among the 57 BOT projects under its management, 27 had seen higher revenue in 2018 compared with their financial plans, while 26 others had witnessed the opposite. The four remaining projects have not been operational long enough to make an assessment.
The number of vehicles traveling on certain roads is higher than expected, leading to higher revenue for those roads.
The Phap Van-Cau Gie expressway project in Hanoi City took the lead, with revenue of over VND700 billion, followed by an expansion project for two National Road 1A sections running through the northern-central province of Quang Binh, at over VND220 billion. Their revenue was some 10% higher than the estimates.
By contrast, the lower-than-expected revenue of 26 other projects is ascribed to the fact that the number of vehicles passing through is much lower than expected, so the revenue growth rate is far below the predicted rate.
An expansion project for a National Road 1A section, linking Hanoi with the neighboring province of Bac Giang, saw an 87% decline in revenue, generating some VND460 billion.
Meanwhile, the Phu Gia-Phuoc Tuong tunnel project in the north central-coastal province of Thua Thien-Hue recorded revenue a staggering 90% lower than expected, at VND260 billion.
Further, the number of vehicles traveling through tollgates in certain projects is increasing steadily, but their revenue is still suffering a shortfall compared with their financial plans due to the unusually high number of drivers using monthly or quarterly fares.
Moreover, exemptions or reductions in toll fees are being applied, particularly for vehicle users living or working near the tollgates. Some notable examples are the Hanoi-Haiphong expressway project and an expansion project for a National Road 1A section running through the south-central coastal province of Quang Nam.
According to the directorate, declines in revenue among BOT transport infrastructure projects could disrupt their financial plans and raise the levels of non-performing loans or bad debts at commercial banks that have financed these projects.
