By Shafaat Ahmed www.khaleejtimes.com
There are no immediate plans to introduce new Salik gates in Dubai, a senior Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) official told Khaleej Times.
Clarifying rumours about introduction of new toll gates soon, he said that according to the original Master Plan, various Salik toll gates were to be introduced in several phases across different locations and that proposals are being studied, but there won’t be any immediate decision on it.
“The Master Plan is still valid and we are studying a few proposals to introduce toll gates at different locations. A few potential locations have also been identified but nothing has been finalised so far,” he said on conditions of anonymity.
He added that it takes time for any proposal to be implemented as it goes through various levels of surveys and viability studies before finally going to the Dubai Executive Council for approval.
The long-winding process of studies and approval means that there is no immediate plan to introduce new Salik gates, he suggested
The RTA currently operates four toll gates, two of which were introduced in July 2007 and the other two, the following year.Apparently, the toll gate system introduced to divert traffic from Shaikh Zayed Road to alternative roads, has become a major source of income for RTA generating a revenue of around Dh800 million last year.
