The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) says the Government can rake in an amount of GHc157,680,000 annually to the road fund if all tollbooths in the country are automated.

The Chamber noted that with the average of 2.9 million registered vehicles in the country paying GHS54.37 per year, the government could get more revenue than the current figures.

Mr Duncan Amoah, the Executive Secretary at COPEC, in a news brief, said “On assumption that each vehicle pays GHS1.00 per crossing, then the total amount of money to be realized from the one hundred (100) toll booths (for in and out movements) in a year shall be equal to GHS157,680,000.”

He said the amount could be higher than the projected revenue of GHS86, 312,588.32 for 2021, which was extrapolated based on an annual increase of 6.7 per cent between 2017 and 2018 revenues.

Mr Amoah recalled that in the year 2018, the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) was reported to have gotten GHS71,052,748.48 as revenue from the 36 tollbooths on some highways across the country.

“This was about 6.7 per cent increment from GHS66,582,806.03 as obtained in 2017. It is worth noting that, out of the 36 tollbooths only five of them have more than a toll collection unit, bringing the total collection units to 100,” he stated.

The Government, Mr Amoah stated that losses at a minimum of 40 per cent and a maximum of 80 per cent revenue from the 100 tolling units at the 36 toll booths across the country based on 2.9 million registered vehicles in the country.

“Thus, based on the revenue turn-out in 2019, Ghana loses between GHS28,421,099.392 and GHS56,842,198.784 a year in revenue,” he noted.

Mr Amoah said by automating the tollbooths, Ghana would gracefully join South Africa and Rwanda as the only African countries to deploy Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) System.

He explained that the ETC was seen by many as part of a wider Intelligent Transport System, which included the much talked about vehicle to infrastructure, and that Ghana must act to benefit from the fruits of technology.

The COPEC Executive Secretary averred that with the introduction of ETC systems, the printing of toll tickets would be eliminated, thereby saving the cost of printing toll tickets and also improving sanitation within the cities.