NHAI and ICICI Bank partner to implement India’s first Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) tolling system in Gujarat

NHAI-promoted company Indian Highways Management Company Ltd. (IHMCL) has signed an agreement with ICICI Bank to implement country’s first comprehensive Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) tolling system at the Choryasi Fee Plaza along the National Highway 48 in Gujarat.

The plaza is situated between the Bharuch-Surat stretch of NH-48. NH-48. NH-48 is one of country’s major national highways, running from Delhi to Chennai.

Announced as a pilot, this Gujarat Plaza will be the country’s first seamless and barrier-free toll plaza. However, the operations of the barrier-free plaza will only begin from January-February next year, an NHAI source told Fortune India.

Under the agreement, ICICI Bank will facilitate the barrier-free tolling system at the plaza, eliminating the need for large toll plazas operated by humans. Transactions will be carried out electronically through FASTag, with ICICI Bank as the payments merchant.

Under the National Highway Authority of India’s (NHAI) plan for building the Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) system, the aim is to use high-performance RFID readers and AI-powered ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) cameras to read FASTags and vehicle registration numbers (VRNs). This will enable vehicles to pass without halting at the plazas thus, reducing congestion, saving travel time, improving fuel efficiency, and cutting emissions.

The system is also expected to enhance toll revenue collection while building a smarter and more efficient national highway network.

An agreement has also been signed with private lender for the rollout of MLFF at Gharaunda Fee Plaza on NH-44 in Haryana.

NH-44 is the longest national highway in India that connects Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. The highway is a critical link in the North-South Corridor of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP).

Meanwhile, NHAI is planning to introduce MLFF-based tolling at about 25 fee plazas across the country during the current financial year, with the identification of sites currently underway.

“This agreement to implement the Multi-Lane Free Flow tolling system marks a significant milestone in the evolution and modernization of tolling in India. By leveraging technology, it will establish the foundation for a more efficient, transparent, and user-friendly tolling ecosystem, aligned with our vision of technology-driven transformation in National Highway operations and will pave the way for its adoption nationwide,” said Santosh Kumar Yadav, chairman, NHAI, during the signing of the agreement on Saturday.

This announcement comes just days after the launch of the FASTag Annual Pass. Priced at ₹3,000, the pass offers private vehicle owners 200 toll-free trips with one year of validity at designated National Highway and Expressway plazas.

These initiatives thus, seem to be aimed at easing travel for daily commuters, making highway movement faster and more convenient.