NHA increases toll rates on highways, motorways

The National Highway Authority (NHA) has increased the toll rates by up to 25 percent on all national highways and motorways to collect more funds to ensure timely completion of its various on-going development projects. In its 206th meeting held on August 11, 2011, the NHA executive board approved rationalisation/increase in toll rates on all national highway and motorways network with effect from September 1.
Sources said here on Tuesday that the Authority needed Rs 5.2 billion urgently to pay for on-going development projects and the only way to collect the required amount was by raising the toll rates. The government is only source of funding for NHA, while ministry of finance already put 50 percent cut on PSDP.
According to official figures, the NHA collected Rs 29,474 million as toll revenue during the past five years from 97 toll plazas operational on its roads network. The toll plazas on national highways collected Rs 22,413 million toll revenue from 2006 to 2010, whereas the toll plazas on motorways collected Rs 7,061 million as toll revenue in the said time.
Out of 97 toll plazas, 69 plazas are located on national highways, while 28 are situated on motorways. A total of 53 toll plazas are operational in Punjab, out of which 32 are on national highways, and 21 on Motorways. In Sindh, 18 toll plazas are operational on the highways. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, there are 14 toll plazas working seven each on highways and motorways, whereas 12 toll plazas are operational on Balochistan highways.
At present, the motorway sections in Sindh and Balochistan provinces are in the planning and construction stage. Therefore, no toll plaza in the two provinces is operational there so far.
The notification of rationalisation on toll rates states that car/jeep toll has been raised by Rs 25 to 30 on national highway network and super highway, whereas Wagon 24 seats has increased to Rs 35 to 45. Now Bus/ Coach have to pay Rs 75 extra in toll.
The NHA has also been facing problem from Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) and National Logistic Cell (NLC), as currently, NLC has seven and FWO has 62 toll plazas in their control. It was decided earlier that 10 percent of toll plazas' income would be held by FWO and the rest 90 percent be given to NHA, but FWO is violating the accord. Ministry of Communications has shown its helplessness to get vacated the toll plazas by FWO and NLC, which have no authorisation to collect toll at motorways.
The NHA has to make outstanding payment of Rs 9 billion to FWO against various construction projects. Owing to refusal of their works payment, the FWO has occupied toll plazas forcibly and is making recoveries through toll money. The NHA requested the federal government for allocation of Rs 36 billion, but received a minor amount of Rs 18.5 billion in 2010-11. Subsequently, no money for payment to FWO is available with the ministry. NHA has huge liabilities against NLC.
An official of NHA said that the raise in toll would help the NHA to install Electronic Toll and Traffic Management (ETTM) system on National Highways to improve the toll collection system, which has been installed on seven toll plazas so far that linked with Operations Centre established at NHA Headquarters to monitor traffic and toll revenue collection round-the-clock.