《TAIPEI TIMES》 Toll system operator to sign Thai freeway deal

REGIONAL EXPANSION: Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co has tasked a subsidiary with running trials abroad, with one including an e-wallet app, the firm said

By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

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Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co would on Wednesday next week sign a contract with BGSR Consortium to jointly build an electronic toll collection system on Thailand’s M6 and M81 highways.

It would be the first time that Far Eastern exports the technology and service to one of the 18 countries included in the government’s New Southbound Policy, the company said.

The two highways, which are part of a 20-year development plan by the Thai government, have a total length of 330km, the company said.

The M6 connects central Thailand with the northeastern region, while the M81 connects the west of the country.

Thailand has a population of nearly 70 million and more than 18 million registered vehicles, Far Eastern said.

Its newly designed toll system would be operational in 2025 on the two routes, the company said, adding that it would train local professionals to operate it.

The system would enable Thailand to tackle traffic congestion, which has been slowing economic development, in a smarter way, it said.

Far Eastern managing director Chang Yung-chang （張永昌） said that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused more countries to develop zero-contact toll systems.

Far Eastern’s system has helped Taiwan manage freeways more efficiently, Chang added.

Taiwan is the first country to have such a system installed on all freeways, the company said, adding that the nation’s system manages 3.2 million vehicles per day, with 16 million transactions.

The system’s transaction accuracy rate and toll collection success rate reached 99.9 percent and 99.97 percent respectively, it said.

The company in the third quarter of this year tasked its subsidiary FETC International to trial an electronic toll collection system on Thailand’s M9, the company said.

Before the end of this year, the subsidiary would conduct a similar trial in Malaysia, which includes the development of an e-wallet app.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES