Romania's public road authority expects to cash EUR 177 million from road tax this year

Romania's national road and highway authority CNADNR expects to earn EUR 177 million, having earned EUR 157 million in the first 11 months of last year. In 2009, the company's revenue from the road tax was of around EUR 147 million. CNADNR's preliminary estimate on its 2010 turnover is of EUR 197 million, up 11.6 percent from 2009. The rise owes to the implementation of the electronic road tax issue, management, monitoring and control system, on October 1, said the company. According to company estimates, CNADNR turned a profit of EUR 146 million, following losses of around EUR 123 million in 2009. CNADNR anticipates the opening of new highway segments in Romania this year, totaling around 117 km: Cernavoda-Medgidia (19.25 km), Medgidia-Constanta (31.5 km), Arad-Timisoara (32.25 km) and the beltways of Constanta (22 km) and Arad (12.25 km). The company also expects work to be complete on the restoration of 238.6 km of national road. The road tax in Romania is collected mainly through 'rovinieta', that all drivers have to pay for. It used to be a sticker that drivers placed on their windshield but currently the verification is done electronically, with the help of cameras installed across the country. They check the car's licence plate and run it against a database to see whether the driver has bought the rovinieta. The yearly cost of the rovinieta is EUR 28 for regular cars. Mediafax