(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Published: Fri 19 Jan 2024, 9:37 AM
Last updated: Fri 19 Jan 2024, 10:40 PM
Two new toll gates will be added in Dubai, Salik Company PJSC (Salik), Dubai's exclusive toll gate operator announced on Friday.
The two new gates will be located at Business Bay Crossing on Al Khail Road, and Al Safa South on sheikh Zayed Road between Al Meydan Street and Umm Al Sheif Street.
Salik said the Roads and transport Authority (RTA) has formally assigned the company“to install two new toll gates to optimise traffic flow and reduce congestion on key routes within Dubai.”
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The two locations have been selected based on extensive traffic movement studies by the RTA. Their objective is to manage traffic distribution and reduce congestion by rerouting some traffic to alternative routes with greater capacity, facilitating smoother and more efficient travel for all motorists in Dubai.
Start of operations
The two new toll gates will be operational in November this year, increasing Salik's total number of toll gates in Dubai from eight to ten. The existing toll gates are in Al Barsha, Al Garhoud Bridge, Al Maktoum Bridge, Al Mamzar South, Al Mamzar North, Al Safa, Airport Tunnel, Jebel Ali.
Each time a vehicle passes through a Salik toll gate, the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology detects the vehicle and scans the Salik sticker tag. A toll fee of Dh4 is automatically deducted from the motorist's prepaid toll account.
Salik said,“Similar to Al Mamzar North and South, the upcoming Al Safa South will be linked with the existing Al Safa gate (Al Safa North), and motorists will be charged only once if they pass through the two gates within one hour in the same direction."
Easing traffic congestion
The RTA expects the Business Bay Crossing gate to assist in improving traffic congestion by 12 to 15 per cent on Al Khail Road, reducing traffic volume by 10-16 per cent on Al Rabat Street, and redistributing traffic to Al Maktoum and Al Garhoud bridges and Ras Al Khor Street.
Similarly, Al Safa South is expected to reduce right-turn traffic volume from Sheikh Zayed Road to Meydan Street by 15 per cent and optimise traffic flow on Financial Centre, First Al Khail, and Al Asayel streets.
Growth plan
Salik CEO Ibrahim Sultan Al Haddad noted:“The addition of new toll gates in two increasingly busy locations marks the latest milestone in the growth plan that we set out at the time of Salik's initial public offering.”
Ibrahim Sultan Al Haddad
Salik was established as a public joint stock company in June 2022. With 8 toll gates located at strategic junctures - especially on Sheikh Zayed Road, which is considered as the city's main arterial highway - around 539 million journeys were recorded through Salik's toll gates in 2022.
Al Haddad said:“Our partnership with RTA in launching these new gates is another important step in our journey to enhancing Dubai's transport infrastructure with smart and sustainable mobility solutions. The two new gates aim to improve overall mobility throughout the city, facilitating smoother and more efficient travel for road users.”
With the launch of the new gates, Salik expects to see an increase in annual revenue-generating trips.
Diversifying revenues
Meanwhile, in December last year, Salik announced that it will be operating the parking at Dubai Mall by third quarter of 2024.
The mall has more than 13,000 parking spaces. The automatic fee collection for ticketless parking will be charged using vehicle plate recognition. The barrier-free parking system will use the same automatic number plate recognition and RFID technology used for tracking tags by Salik.
A camera will capture the plate number as it enters the parking floor and will record the entry time. At the exit, the camera will again scan the plate number and the system will calculate the parking time.
Charges are yet to be defined by Emaar Malls but fees will be deducted from the Salik user account.
Dubai stock exchange closed higher on Friday, lifted by a jump in Salik Company. Dubai's main index jumped 0.7 per cent boosted by a 5.2 per cent rise in the company after it announced the new toll gates.
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