The Federal Government has said it is
considering the reintroduction of tolling on roads and has come up with
the ‘Green Paper: Federal Roads and Bridges Tolling Policy for Nigeria’
to actualise this.
In a statement made available to....
our
correspondent on Sunday, the Director, Public-Private Partnership,
Federal Ministry of Works, Mr. Babatunde Ekunsumi, said road tolling was
a globally accepted method of raising funds for road maintenance and
management, and would be of substantial economic benefit if properly
managed.
He said the Federal Government was
seeking new funding methods to attract needed investment to the road
sector in an effort to create an efficient and effective transport
system.
Ekunsumi said, “Nigeria had operated
some toll roads for several years, but they were abandoned in 2004 due
mainly to legal disputes, revenue leakages and unmet maintenance of the
tolled roads. With tolling once again being considered as a policy
option, Nigeria has the advantage that it can assess successfully
executed tolling models to develop its own tolling framework that will
effectively build, manage and maintain our roads.”
“Not all roads and bridges are viable
propositions for tolling. The majority of Nigeria’s roads, especially
subsidiary roads and roads with low traffic volumes will continue to be
managed and funded by the Federal Government, as well as state
governments and local authorities. However, many high-volume sections
of the federal road network might be tolled viably.”
He added that the Federal Ministry of
Works was embarking on a programme to attract additional investment by
increasing the role of the private sector in the management, maintenance
and upgrade of federal roads and bridges through public-private
partnerships.
Listing major recent initiatives of the
ministry to include the rehabilitation, upgrade and widening of the
Lagos-Ibadan Expressway as well as the Second Niger Bridge, he said the
costs of financing them “will be met by road users through tolls and
other commercial revenues as appropriate.”
According to Ekunsumi, the country needs
a clear policy for tolling as well as the processes that will be
followed for its implementation, adding that the public acceptance of
paying for a service that had previously been funded by the government
must be established through extensive public consultation on the tolling
policy with all stakeholders.
He added that toll collection and enforcement would be legitimate as outlined in the green paper
“The paper sets out the framework and
operational guidelines for the effective reintroduction of tolling in
Nigeria,” Ekusinmi said.
According to him, the paper is the base
document for communication and consultation with stakeholders across
the country in October and November.
“This green paper does not represent
government’s final position on tolling. The green paper is a
consultative document enabling the widest possible range of
stakeholders, both public and private, to provide their input into the
formulation of this policy,” he said.
-Punch
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