Ministry urged to complete electronic toll collection system

The government have urged the Ministry of Transport to quickly put into use the electronic toll collection and admit their limitations.

The government have urged the Ministry of Transport to quickly put into use the electronic toll collection and admit their limitations.

A toll station

According to the government office, installing an electronic toll collection system is a necessary and important task. However, the project has been stagnant and there are many shortcomings in the implementation. The Ministry of Transport and related agencies haven't completely deal with or report difficulties they have faced in the first and second phases which in turn has badly affected the government's reputation.

The Ministry of Transport was asked to take responsibility and make clear who was guilty of delaying implementation. The Ministry of Transport and the minister must take the main responsibility. They must install the system as quick as possible and put all equipment into use to avoid waste.

The ministry and related agencies must report back to the prime minister by March 31 about the installation process, difficulties and solutions so that the project will be completed in 2020.

The government has proposed to revise the Decision 7 or draft a new resolution about electronic toll booths to replace Decision 7.

The prime minister had ordered the completion of the electronic toll collection system by the end of 2019. BOT toll booths that do not have the new system installed would be shut down. However, last November, VETC JSC said they wanted to withdraw from the project because only 11 out of 44 toll stations had signed contracts. This revealed a lack of agreement between private firms and state agencies.

However, their proposal to withdrawal was rejected and the ministry also promised to accompany them and help all related parties deal with difficulties. The Ministry of Transport then suggested extending the deadline to 2020.