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According to a report, highway concessionaire Projek Lebuhraya Usaha Sama Berhad (PLUS) is set to introduce a gateless gantry system for electronic toll collection on its closed highways beginning from 2018.

Citing that the move towards a Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) system was to check traffic congestion at toll plazas, PLUS CEO Muhammad Fuad Khusairi said that the concessionaire was studying several such systems running in other countries.

"Under the system, a gadget or sticker will have to be installed on the windscreen of vehicles. The toll will be calculated using the Radio Frequency Identification or RFID system. There will also be a CCTV network installed on the gantries. The system will be able to tell the amount that needed to be deducted electronically from the vehicle owner's account with us," he told reporters.

Last year, PLUS said it was targeting 100% ETC at all its toll plazas nationwide by 2020 with a gateless gantry toll collection system (like Singapore's overhead Electronic Road Pricing gantries), where cars may simply drive through and be charged electronically without the need for slowing down.

The idea of a MLFF electronic toll collection system is not new - as early as 2008, trials with a Mitsubishi-based system utilising microwave transmission technology were carried at a single location.

In related news, PLUS also said that all toll transactions at both the Mambau and Lukut plazas along the Seremban-Port Dickson Highway (SPDH) will be conducted electronically via Touch 'n Go cards or SmartTAGs from June 1. The concessionaire added that five other toll plazas are also set to go fully electronic in 2015 - they are Jitra, Penang Bridge, Bukit Kayu Hitam and the two toll plazas on the Butterworth-Kulim Expressway.