An automated system will soon be installed to
collect bridge tolls paid by motorists crossing the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge
in Vientiane in a bid to speed up the process.
The TK
Group Company signed a 10 year concession agreement on Monday (April 9) to
operate the scheme, at a cost of more than US$300,000. The company will be able
to obtain a further concession if desired.
The
present system involves the manual collection of toll payments, which is very
time consuming, Head of the Mekong Friendship Bridge in Vientiane Someboun
Souvannachoumkham said.
“The
process is quite slow as the toll collector writes down the price on a ticket,
tears it off and hands it to the driver and then they have to write down the
amount in a book. This causes long traffic lines.”
Drivers
naturally find this process tedious and they sometimes complain to the bridge
authorities.
Because
the toll collection method is inefficient, it's also difficult to keep track of
the actual amount of money received, Someboun said.
With
the installation of an automated system, the toll collectors will be dispensed
with. Drivers will simply put money into the machine and can then cross the
bridge straight away.
Someboun
said the TK Group will pay about 7.2 billion kip (US$903,104) to the government
for the first year of the concession and will pay 3 per cent more in successive
years.
In 2010-2011,
the Vientiane Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge paid over 6.4 billion kip to the
government in bridge toll revenues, and in 2011-2012 this figure rose to about
6.9 billion kip.
According
to bridge officials, more than 1,000 vehicles cross the bridge between
Vientiane and Nong Khai province of Thailand each day.
There
are three Friendship Bridges linking Laos and Thailand across the Mekong and a
fourth under construction in Bokeo province that is expected to open in June
next year.
Khonesavanh
Latsaphao
Vientiane
Times
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