A. Lukashenko: We must establish a fair road toll

16 ноября 2020

Road safety and comfort of the Belarusian roads were discussed today in the Palace of Independence. The reason for the meeting was the "road tax", the issue the Belarusians have waited to be settled for several years. And the verdict will largely depend on the maintenance and new construction of highways. It was expected that today the President would put an end to this issue. But Alexander Lukashenko unexpectedly instructed the government and parliament to find a way out. And thus to divide the powers of the authorities on the example of road toll, as some representatives of society demand.

Undoubtedly, the quality of our roads is set as an example. And their construction and repair is a costly process. The mechanism, which was offered to Belarusian drivers, was a one-time payment of tax before the technical inspection. A few years later it became clear that the mechanism has to be abolished.

The road toll appeared six years ago. The car owners were obliged to pay the toll, a year in advance, in order to actually get access to the diagnostics station for obligatory maintenance. The drivers began to ignore the technical inspection on a massive scale not paying any tax, and not passing the inspection of the car. The number of those who came to the diagnostic stations fell by 10%!

А. Lukashenko: 10 billion rubles was spent on maintenance of Belarusian roads in 10 years

The renovation of roads and bridges in Belarus was undertaken. The reconstruction of M6 became a landmark. There is a new alternative East-West corridor. The Brest Western Bypass connected several international highways and unloaded the regional center. And today it is the biggest junction in the country.

A large construction site is being constructed in Mogilev. The new double-track will connect two large neighborhoods, Kazimirovka and Sputnik, and relieve the load from the main highway. And if you enter Mogilev from the capital, you will be able to get to the free economic zone of the city bypassing the center.

Vladimir Andreichenko, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus: "Including this duty in the cost of fuel will bring great advantages, but I will say that there will be many disadvantages. Among the advantages of such an approach is simplicity and fairness, the ability to raise funds from foreign citizens. The negative consequences of this option are a sharp increase in the cost of fuel, a large difference in the price of gasoline in Belarus and Russia and inflation, because other services will start to become more expensive".

It will be necessary to come to a consensus together and together be responsible for the result!