A total of six road fee collection stations will be installed within this year on a section of over 200 kilometers on National Highway 14 linking the southern province of Binh Phuoc to the Central Highlands region of Vietnam. In addition, the road fee at one of the six stations in Binh Phuoc has tripled since June 15. This contradicts the regulation Transport Minister Dinh La Thang confirmed to the prime minister last month that the minimum distance between two road fee collection stations is 70 kilometers on a highway. According to the Ministry of Finance, five more road fee collection stations will be set up on the road from now till the end of this year, together with another one currently in operation in Binh Phuoc. It includes two stations each in Gia Lai and Dak Nong Provinces, and another in Dak Lak Province in the Central Highlands region. A truck driver estimates that it will cost a 40-foot container truck over VND1 million (US$46) in road fees to go through these stations from Gia Lai to Binh Phuoc. At the Binh Phuoc station, the road fee for a 12-seat car has gone up from VND10,000 to VND300,000 ($1.5) since June 15. Similarly, the cost for a 40-foot container truck has risen from VND80,000 ($3.7) to VND180,000 ($8.3). Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper discovered a noteworthy detail that construction of the road section in Binh Phuoc only finished last month, but the road fee collection station was set up in 2010. In addition, drivers have also complained that many road fee collection stations along other national highways across Vietnam have been placed in the wrong position, allowing them to collect fees on both assigned roads and other free roads. However, relevant agencies have failed to solve the problem thoroughly. An example can be found in Hanoi, where the Thang Long – Noi Bai Highway was only put in use in December 2010, but the road fee station started working in September 2009. In addition, one road toll station is placed at the entrance to Hanoi, meaning drivers using other roads to enter the capital have to pay a tax for a road they did not use. The public has also protested the road fee stations on the Hanoi – Hai Phong Highway for a similar reason. According to the Ministry of Transport, Vietnam now has a total of 96 road fee collection stations working or set to open on national highways invested in the form of BOT (Build – Operate – Transfer). They include 45 posts currently in use and 51 others to become operational when construction of certain roads finishes by 2018.