The Punjab government has launched a digital toll collection system at the Eastern Toll Plaza on Lahore Ring Road, replacing the previous third-party operated manual arrangement with an M-Tag based electronic tolling infrastructure as part of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s Digital Punjab vision.
The upgraded six-lane toll plaza was inaugurated by Punjab Minister for Communication and Works Malik Sohaib Ahmad Bharth, with Punjab Ring Road Authority Chairperson Safiullah Gondal and senior officials from the Frontier Works Organization and One Network in attendance. The M-Tag system enables commuters to pass through toll plazas without stopping for cash payment, with charges deducted automatically from a pre-registered account linked to the vehicle’s tag, reducing the queuing and manual processing delays that have historically made the Eastern Toll Plaza a congestion point on the ring road.
Officials said the new system will help reduce traffic congestion, shorten waiting times, and ensure smoother movement of vehicles on the busy route. The digital mechanism also improves monitoring of suspicious vehicles on Lahore Ring Road, adding a layer of security and surveillance to what was previously an entirely manual toll collection operation. The Eastern Toll Plaza had previously been operated by a third party, an arrangement that officials said frequently led to operational problems and inconvenience for commuters, making the transition to a government-operated digital system an improvement in both service quality and accountability.
Speaking at the inauguration, Malik Sohaib Ahmad Bharth said the Punjab government is committed to using modern technology in public infrastructure projects under the leadership of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, adding that the digitisation of the toll plaza would bring greater transparency, efficiency, and convenience for commuters while improving traffic flow on Lahore Ring Road. The launch aligns with the broader national direction announced earlier in June, when Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan directed the National Highway Authority to introduce free-flow cashless electronic toll collection across major motorways and national highways as part of a wider motorway modernisation programme covering intelligent transportation systems and integrated surveillance infrastructure.
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