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Home / Road tolling programme shelved indefinitely
Road tolling programme shelved indefinitely
2023-08-25Correspondent THE Road Fund Administration has announced the postponement of its proposed road tolling programme indefinitely.In a statement on Thursday, RFA said this comes after it received policy support from the government in 2022 to engage stakeholders on the introduction of tolling in Namibia.However, the fund said as a result of the prevailing economic climate, coupled with factors such as high interest rates and inflation, it had decided to defer its planned stakeholder and public consultations on the implementation of road tolling until further notice.The RFA further said it had commissioned two feasibility studies on tolling which concluded that tolling is economically and practically feasible in Namibia.“Road authorities and agencies worldwide are under financial pressure to maintain ageing road networks with rapidly diminishing resources. As road conditions deteriorate, vehicle operating costs rise due to faster vehicle wear and tear (damage to tyres, suspension, shocks, etc.) and increased travel time.“These hidden costs raise vehicle maintenance and overall transportation costs for the economy, costing the road user time and money. Tolling is one such funding model. As a result, the RFA looked into the viability of introducing road tolls as an additional revenue stream to maintain the N$7.5 billion national road network,” the statement read.It also stated that due to the proliferation of electric and fuel-efficient vehicles over the last 15 years, vehicle fuel demand has fallen by 2% per year. This trend will continue as the world phases out petrol and diesel-powered vehicles, which will result in regular funding gaps for maintenance and a systemic deterioration of the road infrastructure.- Nampa 2023-08-25Correspondent
