The Ministry of Public Works and Transport and Cambodian PPSHV Expressway Co Ltd – the company that built the Phnom Penh-Preah Sihanouk expressway – have announced the opening of three different types of entrance access lanes for the convenience of drivers.
In addition to the three new lanes, there is also a new priority lane, or Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) lane, which will simplify exiting and entering the expressway for consumers by enabling an automated payments system that does not require registration and works in a similar fashion to mobile SIM cards use of mobile top-ups.
All three of the lanes announced on December 7 are manual toll collection (MTC) lanes, requiring cards or cash at the entrance and exit. The ministry noted that in case of heavy traffic, drivers may face long waits at the entry and exits due to each driver having to complete their payment.
The Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) lane is a priority lane with an automatic exit barrier on the far left, and drivers must first register to use the ETC lane at the ETC centre or at a location designated by the ministry.
The ANPR lane is a new priority lane which is simple for users to access. Drivers can just top-up their number plate via their mobile banking app and when they attempt to access the lane the automated recognition system will read their number plate – and if it has enough credit topped-up – it will let them through automatically without using cash or cards.
On November 14, the ministry launched the Mobile Banking application to top up balances through vehicle identification cards and it currently has seven partner institutions that have launched a mobile banking option to top up number plate balances through their apps: Chip Mong, ACLEDA, Vattanac, ABA, Wing, Canadia and Ly Hour Weiluy.
With the announcement of new lane, Minister of Interior Sar Kheng advised the company in charge and the transport ministry to maintain efforts focused on reduction of traffic accidents on the expressway.
The Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville expressway officially opened on October 1 and began charging tolls from November 1. Around 7,000 vehicles use the expressway on an average weekday and over 10,000 vehicles on an average weekend day.
