Entering downtown Saigon might be much more expensive for car and truck drivers in the near future.
The Innovative Technology Development Corporation (iTD) has submitted a project to the municipal People’s Committee and the Department of Transport, suggesting that each vehicle entering the city center pay a fee in an effort to lessen traffic, according to Tuoi Tre.
Car drivers would pay between VND30,000 (US$1.32) and VND50,000 (US$2.20) to enter the downtown area, while truck and commercial bus drivers would be charged VND50,000 (US$2.20), in accordance with the new proposal.
36 tollgates would surround and monitor entrances to the downtown area which includes streets within a diameter formed by Hoang Sa, Nguyen Phuc Nguyen, Canh Mang Thang Tam, Ba Thang Hai, Le Hong Phong, Ly Thai To, Nguyen Van Cu, Vo Van Kiet, and Ton Duc Thang Streets. Cars and trucks would be charged between 6am and 7pm every day.
Image via Tuoi Tre.
VnExpress reports that specialized cameras to recognize car number plates and other equipment worth over VND1 trillion (US$43.9 million) would be set up at each entry point. Those who refuse to pay the fee would be penalized as per a government decree.
iTD expects the project to cost an estimated VND1.797 billion (US$79,099), and should be carried out under a PPP (public–private partnership) deal and BLT (build, lease, transfer) contract. The project is expected to generate approximately VND700 billion (US$30.8 million) per year once the tollgates are installed in 2018-19.
Motorbikes would be immune from the charges, because iTD says that they account for 80% of all vehicles in the city and it would be impossible to effectively limit them and collect fees.
The project aims to reduce congestion on major streets in the city center and to encourage local residents to use public transportation.
The plan has its critics however. Pham Sanh, a traffic expert, told Saigon Times that the city should carry out a thorough survey of traffic density on the roads leading to the city center, public transit network and parking lots to make sure the project would work.
He fears that traffic may simply be diverted to nearby districts, thus shifting stress to their infrastructures. Sanh also notes that the city’s public transport system remains underdeveloped and may be inadequate to attract would-be drivers.
[Top photo by Elena Ermakova]
