The government has begun a competitive bidding process to select an operator for a nationwide digital road tolling system, Roads and Highways Minister, Governs Kwame Agbodza said on Monday.
Speaking in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show, and closely followed by The High Street Journal, the minister said the procurement process has already passed two stages, with authorities currently completing a traffic volume and data validation exercise across the public road network.
“That data work has been ongoing for about a month and is expected to end this month,” he said, adding that the ministry expects clarity by the end of January on the next steps in the procurement.
Under the proposed system, road tolls will be collected digitally, eliminating physical toll booths in line with emerging regional practice. The minister said the rollout will involve close coordination between, but not limited to, the Ministry of Roads and Highways, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Communications, particularly around enforcement and public education.
“If everything goes well, within the next two weeks I should be able to say exactly when the procurement will be completed and when an operator will be selected,” he noted.
The digital toll initiative is part of government efforts to raise revenue for road maintenance and completion of ongoing projects, while reducing congestion and delays associated with manual toll collection.
Once an operator is selected, the minister said public sensitisation will begin ahead of implementation, stressing that only engineered and improved public roads would be tolled under the new system.