Champassak road toll charges causing confusion

[Lone Rider]

Champassak road toll charges causing confusion

Motorists are confused and complaining about changes to tolls on Road No. 16 (the road from the Chongmek to Vangtao border crossing to the Japanese Bridge over the Mekong at Pakse) since they were introduced last month. The government signed a concession with the Duangdy Bridge-Road Construction Company allowing them to collect fees for a period of 45 years and the company is experimenting with the collection of tolls over a period of four months after which the system will be reassessed. But the experimentation is confusing road users after the tolls were introduced on August 17 with the fees varying depending on the type of vehicle.

Currently, many provinces are trying to eliminate the collection of tolls on major roads in order to facilitate transport and trade but Champassak is now doing the opposite. Last month, cars were required to pay 20,000 kip and minibus operators 25,000-30,000 kip. Meanwhile, 35-seat buses were charged 40,000 kip and heavy trucks or trailers 80,000 kip one way on the route from the Laos-Japan Mekong Bridge to the Vangtao-Chongmek border crossing, but now some tolls have changed.

Source: Vientiane Times (Latest Update September 19, 2016)
(Latest Update September 19, 2016)

Note LR - Not sure if motorbike riders have to pay toll as it is not mentioned in this article nor in a previous article in the Vientiane Times on 22 August

 

[Lone Rider]

Champassak road toll charges causing confusion

Motorists are confused and complaining about changes to tolls on Road No. 16 (the road from the Chongmek to Vangtao border crossing to the Japanese Bridge over the Mekong at Pakse) since they were introduced last month. The government signed a concession with the Duangdy Bridge-Road Construction Company allowing them to collect fees for a period of 45 years and the company is experimenting with the collection of tolls over a period of four months after which the system will be reassessed. But the experimentation is confusing road users after the tolls were introduced on August 17 with the fees varying depending on the type of vehicle.

Currently, many provinces are trying to eliminate the collection of tolls on major roads in order to facilitate transport and trade but Champassak is now doing the opposite. Last month, cars were required to pay 20,000 kip and minibus operators 25,000-30,000 kip. Meanwhile, 35-seat buses were charged 40,000 kip and heavy trucks or trailers 80,000 kip one way on the route from the Laos-Japan Mekong Bridge to the Vangtao-Chongmek border crossing, but now some tolls have changed.

Source: Vientiane Times (Latest Update September 19, 2016)
(Latest Update September 19, 2016)

Note LR - Not sure if motorbike riders have to pay toll as it is not mentioned in this article nor in a previous article in the Vientiane Times on 22 August

Road Users Call for End to Tolls in Champassak

Business operators in Champassak province have called on the provincial government to close down the toll booths located on Road No. 16 but so far their calls have gone unheeded. Instead, the provincial government has offered to close police and customs checkpoints in a bid to remove some of the red tape.

Local people don't like the tolls being charged at two points along Road No. 16 from the Laos-Japan Mekong Bridge to the Vangtao-Chongmek border crossing between Laos and Thailand. They view the tolls as overly expensive and want the government to cancel them. Business operators are displeased with these road tolls because their 10-wheel vehicles carrying agricultural products are paying 300,000 to 400-000 kip for a round trip, she said. Now transporters are struggling to find other routes to avoid using Road No. 16 to deliver their products to Thailand.

The government signed a concession with the Duangdy Bridge-Road Construction Company allowing them to collect fees for a period of 45 years in order to repay the company's investment. Road No. 16 runs for a distance of 40 kilometres and crosses into Thailand. The company responsible for building the road, Duangdy Bridge-Road Construction Company, calculated the toll at 500 kip per kilometre. Road users began paying tolls on August 17 with the fees varying depending on the type of vehicle.

Source: Vientiane Times