By Lavern Clarke, Staff ReporterTRANSJAMAICAN HIGHWAY Limited has proposed a charge of about $50, or just under US$1, to travel the 14-kilometre Old Harbour bypass, which will become the testing ground in August for Jamaica's introduction of a toll regime.
Kingsley Thomas, chairman of the National Road Operating and Construction Company (NROCC), said Monday that the figure, which applies to standard vehicles, is still subject to review before the final toll is set and announced publicly.
Trucks under 5.5 metres will pay double the charge agreed for cars, while large trucks will pay triple the amount, according to the fee system agreed to between the highway operator and NROCC, which has oversight responsibility for the Highway 2000 project.
EXPERTS
Experts from the Malaysian Highway Authority are due in the island this week, Mr. Thomas said, to guide Jamaica through the review of the application made by TransJamaican.
"It will be a total evaluation with all the models that the Malaysians have worked on for the past 22 years," he said.
Under the concession agreement, the highway operator has to justify the toll charge, which is indexed to United States price movements.
The rate must fall within a three to seven US cents band, and, based on the current exchange rate and the length of the bypass, the figure quoted by Mr. Thomas suggests that the application is at the upper end of the band. The rate is set in US currency, but is payable at the toll booth in Jamaican currency.
TransJamaican, which has a new managing director, Trevor Jackson, deflected questions on its proposal for the toll when contacted this week. Mr. Jackson has replaced Pascal Radde, who the company said has been given a new assignment by the parent company, Bouygues.
National Works Agency's chief executive, a position currently held by Ivan Anderson, is the designated 'toll regulator', and he has the responsibility for signing off on the toll application.
But on Monday, Mr. Anderson told The Gleaner that he was still waiting for Transport and Works Minister, Robert Pickersgill, to declare him the toll regulator before he begins the review.
Mr. Thomas, however, said the matter has already been decided, with only the formalities of a letter remaining. The Malaysians will
be working with Mr. Anderson,
he said, on the review.
The consultancy comes at a price, but Mr. Thomas, who would not comment on the amount, said such expenses were built into NROCC's US$34 million budget. The agency itself is being financed by debt raised on the open market.
As toll regulator, a toll can only be levied on NWA's approval, and any changes to the road fee must be sanctioned by the agency.
According to Mr. Thomas, the works agency will also share with NROCC the duties of 'toll authority', whose responsibility under the Toll Roads Act is to monitor the highway toll system, and ensure that the operator adheres to the concession agreement.
"In Malaysia, the grantor and the toll authority are one entity. That is the model we intend to follow in Jamaica self-regulation through the grantor," explained Mr. Thomas. He adds, however, that NWA was also co-opted in this role because they saw "a need for an entity external to NROCC to give additional oversight".
MONITORING FUNCTIONS
Mr. Thomas said "NWA will undertake a number of the monitoring functions normally in the remit of a toll authority," noting that it was done for reasons of "economics and transparency" as it allows for the sharing of resources, without adding a new body to the bureaucracy.
Meantime, the amount agreed for the toll, said the NROCC chairman, will be declared officially by the Transport and Works Minister and announced in the penultimate week of July.
This gives TransJamaican a four-week horizon to publicise the road charge, as well as methods of payment, which will include a prepaid card system, and how to access the bypass.
TransJamaican estimates that an average 13,000 vehicles will be travelling the bypass daily.
Bouygues Travaux, the developer/contractor, was unable to say immediately what deadline it is now working with to complete dualisation of the bypass, having announced delays earlier this month.
