'Electronic ticketing system to be extended to all toll plazas'

The Federal Minister for Communications Dr Arbab Alamgir Khan Khalil has said that electronic ticketing toll management system will be extended to all the toll plazas on the motorways to enhance the government revenue. He expressed these views while addressing a meeting at the Auditorium of the NHA Headquarters on Tuesday.
The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Communications, Chaudhry Imtiaz Safdar Warraich, Chairman NHA Altaf Ahmad Chaudhry, members of the Standing Committees of the National Assembly and the Senate, Senator Mir Wali Muhammad Badeni, Saeed Ahmad Zafar, Senator Dr Muhammad Ismail Buledi, Senator Haji Khan Afridi, Inspector General (IG) Motorways Police Dr Waseem Kausar, all Members of NHA and other concerned officials.
Chairman NHA Altaf Ahmad Chaudhry and representatives of consultant firms gave the participants a detailed briefing. It was told during the meeting that the 48 toll plazas, set up on Motorways, are operating under different departments and are not producing the required results. Therefore, it is needed that the whole system should be brought under a single umbrella and handed over to a single operator who should be responsible for the whole system.
The participants were told that a number of services, such as mobile workshops, Emergency Telephone System and other services are provided at the Motorways. The annual expenditure of the mobile workshops is Rs 36 million, Emergency Telephone System Rs 43 million and lighting on the toll plazas is Rs 84 million whereas PRAWL charges rupees Rs 100 million from NHA and what the NHA earns from Nadra goes back to Nadra again therefore, the NHA is earning very little from its facilities.
It was told that the NHA intends to introduce such a technology, which is feasible and acceptable. Now such private firms will be encouraged for investment that will help the NHA install modern equipment on its toll plazas and they will be paid back in 60 months' instalments, whereas they will have no concern with the revenue collected on the toll plazas and all the revenue will go directly to the NHA's account.
This arrangement is expected to increase our revenue by 30 percent and operational cost will also be minimised. It was told that Nadra and other departments would have no role in the new system.
Addressing the meeting Federal Minister for Communications Dr Arbab Alamgir Khan Khalil said that we have decided to modernise all facilities under the NHA and increase the revenue of the government, and also provide maximum facilities to the people travelling on the Motorways.
All members of the Standing Committees expressed their satisfactions at the presentations and proposals given by the NHA officials and representatives of the private firms and said that the toll collection system at the Motorways should be immediately modernised so that the national exchequer may be increased and the people also benefit from the introduction of modern facilities.