Skip to main content

Vietnam launches project to integrate the country's ETC systems

As part of a master plan for its highways, Vietnam is pushing ahead with a demonstration project aimed at integrating the country’s electronic toll collection (ETC) systems. Vietnam is making steady progress in introducing ETC systems into the country's expressway network, but many are calling for the country to integrate its three separate communication modes currently in service – active dedicated short range communications (DSRC), passive DSRC and radio frequency identification (RFID). The Director
September 14, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
As part of a master plan for its highways, Vietnam is pushing ahead with a demonstration project aimed at integrating the country’s electronic toll collection (ETC) systems.

Vietnam is making steady progress in introducing ETC systems into the country's expressway network, but many are calling for the country to integrate its three separate communication modes currently in service – active dedicated short range communications (DSRC), passive DSRC and radio frequency identification (RFID).

The Directorate for Roads of Vietnam (DRVN) and Vietnamese Ministry of Transport (MOT) have signed a memorandum of agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Sojitz Corporation and the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank).

The focus of the demonstration project will be on developing a new ETC system which integrates the three existing formats. Data from the new system will be collected from the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City in the country's south. Based on the project, MHI, Sojitz and VietinBank also aim, with support from DRVN/MOT, to create a second project involving an intelligent traffic system (ITS).

Some two million vehicles are currently registered in Vietnam and new registrations are increasing at a rate of 120,000 to 150,000 each year. In December 2008 the Vietnamese government, in anticipation of the country's shift to a motorised society in the future, formulated a master plan for the nation's expressways. The plan covers 22 routes spanning a total distance of 5,873 kilometres (3,649 miles) and its execution requires a total investment of US$48 billion.

Under the plan, ITS technology is to be introduced to the major expressways in order to enhance their safety and driving comfort in the coming era of motorisation. The plan calls for progressive introduction of traffic control, ETC and other sophisticated systems going forward.

Applying the knowhow they will accumulate from the newly agreed demonstration project, MHI, Sojitz and VietinBank look to make important contributions to the development of Vietnam's road transport networks in the years ahead.

Commenting on the project, a spokesman for DVRN said, “In order to meet the highest demand of traffic drivers and toll collection service users, deploying integrated solution for the three existing formats including DSRC active, DSRC passive and RFID plays an important role.”

Related Content

  • Smart travel gains momentum across the UK
    March 27, 2015
    UK Transport Minister Baroness Kramer has announced three initiatives to accelerate the introduction of smart ticketing across the country. At a meeting with the Smart Cities Partnership, the minister announced that over US$900,000 will be invested over the next two years to extend smart ticketing across the rail network in the West Midlands. She also presided over the signing of a concordat that sets out the basis for cooperation between bus operators and members of the partnership to start delivering
  • DART to launch corridor management system
    March 25, 2013
    Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is to launch its corridor management system, which will integrate traffic information from the myriad transportation agencies along the north central expressway in the region to provide drivers with up to date travel information. The US$9 million project, partially funded by the Department of Transportation, is among several integrated corridor management pioneer sites chosen because of the high travel demand and congestion brought on by the more than 266,000 vehicles that u
  • HERMES Study provides guidance for forward ITS thinking in Finland
    August 25, 2016
    Having authored HERMES, a major study for the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communication, Josef Czako talks to ITS International about his findings and lessons for other authorities. When CEOs of major automakers are predicting more change in the next five years than in the past 50, what is the role of national authorities considering the benefits of innovations in ITS?
  • TransCore and New York City DOT win prestigious IRF award
    January 16, 2013
    TransCore and the New York City Department of Transportation have been presented with the prestigious International Road Federation (IRF) Global Road Achievement Award (GRAA) for deployment of the midtown in motion adaptive signal control system. The GRAA is a leading international competition to identify and honour excellence, innovation, and exceptional achievement. This year’s awards honoured ten projects from countries around the world, with NYCDOT and TransCore receiving the award for excellence in int