After a break of more than a month, the first-class roads in Slovakia could soon be tolled again. This is according to Prime Minister Robert Fico, who made the announcement following his meeting with road transporters, representatives of the National Highway Company (NDS), road toll system provider SkyToll and Transport Minister Lubomir Vazny on Thursday.

"Motor oil is now cheaper in all filling stations, and the invoices (with exact figures provided by SkyToll, concerning the frequency of motorway sections being used - ed. note) are still being screened. If everything goes well, the first-class roads will be tariffed again," said Fico.

According to the premier, the road-toll system - the launch of which has been harshly criticised by hauliers - is running well, and all demands raised by road carriers have been met. Asked about the problems with the road toll system in Parliament later in the day, Fico said that if the first-class roads were to be out of tariffication, the whole electronic system would have made no sense at all.

The specialised working group that Fico set up on January 28 now says that the 'motorway toll invoices' delivered to hauliers after the use of motorways already include precisely identified sections.

President of the Association of Slovak Road Transporters (CESMAD) Peter Halabrin said on Thursday that they would wait until February 15 - the day the next credit period is scheduled to expire - and if no flaws are found, they would okay the first-class roads being tolled.

Since the launch of the electronic road-toll system on January 1, hauliers had to pay for longer motorway sections than they used. This in January triggered protests during which they blocked several important traffic arteries into Bratislava. Protests were also taking place in regional cities across the country.

(TASR, SKTODAY / ILLUSTRATION PHOTO)