Everything You Need To Know About Dubai’s Electronic Toll Gates Company Salik
Dubai’s famed government toll operator is working on bringing in more revenue using several avenues, and this report is here to explain what the company is, how it plans on bringing that previously mentioned cash flow, and more.
What Is Salik?
Salik is an electronic toll gate system in the Emirate of Dubai, which the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) launched in 2007, with the hopes it would be able to crack down on congestion and improve the flow of traffic.
How Does It Work?
There are a total of eight gates spread out on some of the most used highways and tunnels in Dubai. These gates scan a certain Salik Tag, which car owners need to purchase and stick to their windshields and deduct the toll from the owner’s account.
Car owners can either order the Salik tag and have it delivered to their home, or purchase it themselves from gas stations at a cheaper price; they will also need to register it and top it up with the amount of money and have it ready for their next trip through the toll gates.
The toll gates are at Al-Garhoud bridge, Al-Mamzar North, Al-Mamzar South, Al-Safa, Al-Barsha, Al-Maktoum bridge, Airport Tunnel Gate, and Jabel Ali.
What Is Happening Now?
A few days ago, the emirate’s government announced it plans to sell 20% of the toll operator through an initial public offering (IPO) with hopes of bringing in more revenue and boosting the company as a whole.
According to The National, the Dubai government is willing to sell 1.5 billion shares in Salik, and the offering would begin on September 13th and close on the 21st. After the offering closes, the government will end up with 80% of the company, and Salik is set to list on the Dubai Financial Market on September 29th.
“The float size will be the right amount to attract strategic investors and also allow us to price according to our need and the market feedback. The market feedback was very encouraging and very positive. We met investors from all over the world.”
Ibrahim Al Haddad, Salik’s chief executive, told The National.
When it comes to increasing revenue, Salik is planning different methods, such as increasing the number of toll gates throughout the emirate, introducing dynamic pricing of their fees, in-app advertisement, and the monetization of traffic data.
The previously mentioned dynamic fees essentially give Salik the option of raising the fee prices at different times to make the most out of the flow of traffic.
That said, according to The National, new agency Wam stated that Salik Chairman Mattar Al Tayer elaborated that “any decision to expand the road toll system or add further gates will depend on the outcomes of the transport strategy being constantly revised by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority.”
As per the IPO prospectus, the time it takes to make a new gate is approximately nine to 10 months to become operational. It also stated that the public would be alerted of these new gates three to six months before operating, giving them enough time to prepare.
What Can Car Users Do Now?
At this moment, they’ll have to wait and see what will happen as the government will announce any new changes ahead of their implementation.
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