On November 12, a report was published on the prequalification of entrants in the Federal Road Agency’s tender to develop а nationwide tolling system for heavy vehicles in Russia, the so-called 12-ton-plus project.
Thee consortiums were sel ected to bid for the concession contract, led by Optima Plus, Navigation and Information Systems, and Infrastructure Satellite Systems.
The qualifying commission comprised of VEGAS LEX and InfraONE First Infrastructure Company, which are part of the Advisors’ Group for the project*, conducted a thorough analysis of the proposals. The potential contestants showed a high level of preparedness, which means there is a great interest to the government’s initiative among businesses despite the complexity of the project specifications and of the project proper.
The planned nationwide truck tolling system will be a major component of the country’s motor road infrastructure and will include 482 stationary vehicle identification frames, a management a monitoring center, a data processing center, information support centers for vehicle owners, a call center and a mobile control system.
The sel ected companies will be invited to present, within three months, their bids that should list technological, financial and legal aspects of the proposed solutions. The final decisions are to be submitted by February 13, 2014. The bidders have been asked to include their proposals on how the project will be financed. Estimated capital investment will exceed RUR26bn ($789.3mn), while operating costs are to add up to RUR70bn ($2.1bn) over the concession agreement’s term of 13 years.
The government intends to make annual contributions, although its total contribution will not exceed RUR11.168bn (around $340mn, which is the maximum baseline concession grantor payment). The price factor gives the bidders an opportunity to offer a discount to the government. Its size will certainly influence the choice of the winner.
Apart fr om the concession grantor payment discount, the winning project is to ensure that 90% of violating vehicles are caught, 92% of their owners identified and 98% of the truck toll is collected.
The winner will hold a series of talks with the authorities between March 17 and June 5, 2014 and will eventually sign the concession agreement. However, if they fail to reach an agreement, the government has the right to terminate the talks with the winner and initiate negotiations with the second best bidder. This means that the second best bidder stands a solid chance of becoming the first operator of this unique concession project.
Once the concession agreement is signed, implementation of the project will begin in June 2014. Eventually, the long and complex preparation and bidding stage is aimed at having the system go on stream by November 1, 2014.
Regional officials have voiced a concern that the truck tolling system on federal highways might lead to a 7%-9% wear of regional roads as heavy trucks would start using regional roads to avoid taking toll roads. These concerns are groundless; in effect, the federal project gives regions a chance of improving their roads.
The potential regional risks can be avoided by introducing similar truck tolling systems on regional roads (the 12-tons-plus-project for the regions).
“This innovation will not require any additional costs fr om regional governments,” said VEGAS LEX Partner Albert Eganyan, who heads the Advisers’ Group. “Interested private investors can be asked to join regional projects. Moreover, according to preliminary estimates, a regional project should bring RUR140mn per 1000 km of road to the region’s budget.”
However, VEGAS LEX experts believe that some pinpoint amendments of the motor roads legislation will be needed for the regional governments to join the project, such as authorizing the regions to charge toll on regional roads. The changes will be made in the near future.
This wise and comprehensive approach is bound to bring positive effect on a national scale, and safety and comfort on Russian roads will be up to the highest international standards soon.
