ASTANA – In 2016, the Astana- Schuchinsk toll road earned 1.251 billion tenge (US$3.8 million), which is higher than projected. All revenues were spent on the site for modernisation of the toll collection systems and maintenance of the road, KazAvtoZhol national company reports.
Expected revenues for 2016 were 1,144 billion tenge (US$3.37 million). The overachievement of the plan’s target amounted to 107 million tenge (US$324,000). Total volume of vehicles was 2.697 million in 2016. That number is 4.3 percent higher than total traffic volume in 2015 (2.581 million vehicles). Last year, the average number of vehicles was 7,000-8,000 vehicles per day. But on weekends, the number reached up to 12,000 vehicles per day.
KazAvtoZhol reported that the main expenses of the company for this road include: purchase of materials, wages, spare parts, fuel, construction works and services, repair of machines and equipment. Approximately 278.9 million tenge (US$844,000) was spent on the maintenance of toll collection systems. Of that, 887 million tenge (US$2.7 million) was spent on the maintenance and repair of the road.
KazAvtoZhol has established a payment system, popularising rapid cashless forms of payment and allowing clients to pay using payment terminals of QIWI, Kassa24, Kaspi Bank and Tenge companies.
Also, KazAvtoZhol implemented an advanced payment service, attracting Halyk Bank, Kaspi Bank and Sberbank. The toll road users have the opportunity to pay via internet banking with their bankcards. New payment services reduced the load on the bill validators, which led to a reduction of congestion in payment areas.
Earlier, Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament) Deputy Aikyn Konurov expressed displeasure to the management of KazAvtoZhol after studying a standard form contract, published on the company’s website. The deputy said the company isn’t obliged to maintain the toll road to make it safe under the contract.
Konurov said the authorised speed on the road reaches 140 kilometres per hour, but it is not safe to drive a vehicle at that speed in winter time, because KazAvtoZhol doesn’t maintain it and shovel snow away in a proper way. He said that as a result of such management, people die on the road.
