Asfinag is one of the largest infrastructure providers in Austria and one of the leading motorway operators in Europe. The company operates, maintains and manages 2,223 kilometers of highways and motorways with more than 2,800 employees.
At their first joint press conference, the new Asfinag directors Josef Fiala and Hartwig Hufnagl presented the 2018 annual report on 29 April. They described the increasing traffic and the rising need for mobility in Austria as the biggest challenge.
Revenues from truck and bus tolls (vehicles over 3.5 tonnes gross weight) as well as the vignette toll stickers and special tolls (vehicles under 3.5 tonnes total weight) increased by 6.2 per cent compared to the previous year. The revenue from truck and bus tolls amounted to EUR 1.465 billion (up 6.9 per cent), from the car toll EUR 691 million (up 4.6 per cent: EUR 502 million from vignettes, EUR 189 million from the special toll).
Compared to the previous year, truck and bus mileage increased by 5.6 per cent, compared with 2.4 per cent for vehicles with a gross weight of less than 3.5 tonnes. This means an average increase in the total mileage of 2.8 per cent.
“These figures prove that the economy is booming – which is very pleasing. Traffic growth is the biggest challenge for Asfinag. We are responding to the changed mobility behavior in good time – with needs-based expansion, but also with innovative approaches such as the use of traffic managers or, for example, opening the hard shoulder,” said the board members.
By 2024, Asfinag wil invest EUR 8.1 billion in the Austrian motorway and expressway network. The focus is both on the preservation of the existing infrastructure and on a targeted expansion of the infrastructure. “The demand for infrastructure is constantly changing. Our goals: Relieving people from traffic, more capacity, improving traffic and tunnel safety and maintaining and renewing existing routes,” said the board members.
