AMMAN — The
recently launched
Economic Modernization Vision brought back the concept of
introducing tolls on main roads to help maintain them, an idea which experts
believe is a viable option for Jordan.
اضافة اعلان
The
World Bank has
been studying this idea for years to finance the project proposed by the
government for the same goal. According to the proposal, the initial value of
the project, whose goal is to “enhance the performance of Jordan’s road network
and its financial sustainability by attracting private sector investments,”
could reach $225 million.
A World Bank
report issued in 2019 stated that the government is developing 14 major vital
roads — 12 highways and two ring roads — with a total length of 1,379km.
The proposed roads
would make 18 percent of the entire road network in Jordan, Al-Mamlaka TV
reported.
The report
suggested imposing a toll of 11 fils per 1km on small vehicles and double the
amount, or 22 fils, on trucks to be allowed to use toll roads.
Former Minister of
Transportation Lina Al-Shbeeb told
Jordan News that the purpose of the
toll road is to have sustainable funding because the fund allocation by the
ministry of finance is not enough to maintain and rehabilitate roads.
It has been done somewhere else in the world. But we have to make sure that it is something that makes sense for Jordan and that it does not unfairly charge people,
“The longer the
time roads are not maintained, the higher the cost of maintenance, or
reconstruction,” she explained.
She said that toll
roads would have a better service and quality that would minimize the damage
done to the cars resulting from the current degraded roads.
Shbeeb stressed that
roads must be rehabilitated to improve the quality of the existing highway,
reduce operational costs, provide better road safety, and reduce emissions,
which can be only done if funds are secured.
Asked why the
funds for road maintenance do not come from money paid by every car owner for
renewing their car license, she said that the difference between the toll roads
and the annual licensing fees is that the latter goes to the country’s general
budget, with a small part paid for roads maintenance.
“Still, it is not
enough, which is the reason for Jordan’s degraded roads,” she explained.
She said that the
toll roads could be implemented according to distance and car weight. The
larger the vehicle, the higher the toll. Therefore, trucks would pay more because
they are the main reason behind damages to the road infrastructure.
However, Shbeeb
pointed out that by imposing higher fees on trucks, the government would impose
indirect costs on everyone because the price of products carried by the trucks
would increase.
She said that the
main challenge facing the government is to secure the needed funds to have the
project get off the ground.
“People should be
educated on the project and why it is important. So people should be a part of
the decision-making process,” Shbeeb said.
Transport
consultant Hazem Al-Zureiqat told
Jordan News that the idea could
potentially be viable for Jordan. He concurred with Shabeeb on the degraded
state of Jordan’s highway network. He pointed out that Jordan does not have
sufficient funds dedicated to road maintenance.
“What we are
talking about here is imposing tolls on highways to secure funding specifically
for road maintenance,” he said. “The idea is to have a company that would take
over a highway, manage the toll system, and take a percentage out of the
revenue, while the remainder goes for road maintenance.”
“So, this specific
project is only for solving maintenance issues,” Zureiqat said.
Ideally, the
government would provide free alternatives for people unwilling to pay the
charge, he said. Other options could also be imposing tolls on certain types of
vehicles, or at certain times of the day, or on days of the week.”
People should be educated on the project and why it is important. So people should be a part of the decision-making process,
“It could be in
the peak hours or on trucks only, or high emission vehicles,” he predicted.
“There is a lot to
be considered in implementing the scheme; technically, it is easy to implement.
The technology is available, and we are not reinventing the wheel,” he said.
“It has been done
somewhere else in the world. But we have to make sure that it is something that
makes sense for Jordan and that it does not unfairly charge people,” Zureiqat
added.
He noted that the
challenge is not technical as much as it is the social acceptance. “People are
used to using roads for free, and parking for free in many settings”.
“I’m an advocate
for charging for road use, but I think it should make sense and be fair, and in
many cases, we should provide people with alternatives because when you charge
for the use of public roads, you run the risk of hurting the economy,” he said.
Zureiqat pointed
out that imposing a charge without alternatives could lead to suppression of
travel, which would hurt the economy.
There is a lot to be considered in implementing the scheme; technically, it is easy to implement. The technology is available, and we are not reinventing the wheel
He recommends that
the government start charging the toll only on commercial vehicles, like trucks
rather than private passenger cars.
“I am for the idea of locating funding sources for road
maintenance. We need that sort of funding because we have delayed road
maintenance so much, and we can see that in projects like the desert highway,
for example, it could’ve been cheaper if it was done years before,” Zureiqat
concluded.
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