Toll mopup may top Rs 70,000 cr in 2024

Synopsis

India's toll collection in 2024 may exceed ₹70,000 crore as daily collections grow due to new toll plazas and increased economic activity. With 164 toll plazas added in FY24 and FY25, the country now has 1,040 plazas, boosting revenue and reducing travel time and costs.

New Delhi: India's toll collection in 2024 could surpass ₹70,000 crore, government data indicates, as average daily collections continue to rise on the back of addition of new toll plazas and a pickup in economic activity.

Electronic toll collection in the nearly 12 months till December 22 stood at ₹68,037.60 crore, a jump of 9.2% over the previous full-year figure. Daily average collection in 2024 stood at ₹191.14 crore as against ₹170.66 crore last year.

A senior government official told ET that the addition of new toll plazas this year coupled with greater efficiency and pickup in logistics activity to support increased consumption has added to the yearly toll collection.

"The government aims to provide seamless movement on highways, and hence we are adding more toll roads," the official said. "This will help generate more revenue while ensuring that road travellers save on time and cost of travel."

In FY24, India added 94 toll plazas, taking the count to 933 as on April 1, 2024. In the first eight months of FY25 (April 1 to November 30, 2024), the number of toll plazas added stood at 70. The total toll length in the country went up from 42,595 km on April 1, 2023 to 46,884 km on April 1, 2024, an addition of 4,289 km, while the toll length added in the current fiscal year till November 30 stood at 3,059.6 km.

"Toll collection has shown sustained momentum in the second half of the year, aided by the festive season. Also, over the last couple of years, there has been addition of new toll plazas, which has helped in a delta increase," Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, global head of consulting, Crisil Market Intelligence and Analytics, said. "This positive momentum is expected to continue for the next quarter as well."

India has 1,040 toll plazas across the country, of which 1,003 are under the control of the National Highways Authority of India, which comes under the ministry of road transport and highways.

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