An Suong-An Lac Station in Binh Tan District will begin electronic toll collection (ETC) in July, according to a representative of Infrastructure Development Investment Joint Stock Company (IDICO) as operator of the toll station.

A view of An Suong-An Lac Station

The company has signed an agreement with ETC system provider VETC to set up automated toll collection at the station, following which, it will be applied at other stations citywide.

These systems not only help drivers pay fares without stopping but also help investors save costs on printing tickets and providing maintenance services. Further, ETC technology can control the total collected fees.

Earlier in April, IDICO installed the system and piloted four ETC tollgates.

IDICO earlier invested in build-operate-transfer project to upgrade a 14-kilometer section of National Highway 1A, from An Suong Intersection to An Lac Roundabout, running through District 12 and Binh Tan and Binh Chanh districts. The project was completed over three phrases.

The first phase, with total investment of VND831 billion, was opened to traffic on December 25, 2004, and the investor started to collect tolls for this section on January 2, 2005.

Phase two included the construction of two interchanges and overpasses between National Highway 1 and provincial roads 10 and 10B, as well as a divider between lanes for automobiles and motorcycles, costing VND705 billion.

In the final phase, construction of an interchange between National Highway 1 and Road 2 (Huong Lo 2) was conducted at a cost of VND407 billion.

The An Suong-An Lac section of National Highway 1 is a key road linking HCMC and provinces in the southeastern, southwestern, central and northern regions.

SGT