Pandemic cuts A55 ‘shadow toll’
LESS TRAFFIC HAS MEANT LOWER PAYMENTS BY WELSH GOVT TO PRIVATE OPERATOR
THE Covid-19 pandemic hit traffic levels on the A55 dual carriageway and significantly hit the profits of the private company that designed, built and operates a stretch of the road.
The 20-mile section between Llanfairpwll and Holyhead was the final link in the dualling of the road linking the port of Holyhead and the English border at Chester.
Building work began in 1998 and was completed in March 2001 under a controversial Private Finance Initiative (PFI) which sees the Welsh Government paying a “shadow toll” to UK Highways A55 Ltd for every vehicle using the dual carriageway.
The 30-year contract, arranged by the UK Labour government before devolution in 1999, for the maintenance and operation of the road runs until December 2028.
UK Highways A55 Ltd also operates and maintains the road along with a further six-mile section of existing trunk road between Llanfairpwll and Bangor.
In its latest accounts filed last month, the Kentbased company reports its profit after tax for the year was £808,000. In the previous year the profit after tax was £4.152 million.
In 2021 the Welsh Government paid shadow tolls of £14.9 million to UK Highways. The previous year the sum of £16.83 million was paid.
The company’s annual report states traffic levels began to drop in midMarch 2020.
It notes: “Traffic levels continued to be depressed throughout the year ended March 31, 2021 as a result of the restrictions on movement imposed by the UK government due to Covid-19. The directors continue to monitor traffic volumes on a weekly basis.
“This year’s traffic volumes on the A55 have decreased by 37.1% for cars and decreased by 12% for HGVs over the same period last year. The reduction, this year was primarily due to the restrictions on movement during the Covid-19 pandemic from mid-March 2020.”
No dividends were paid in the current year. In 2020 £2.803 million were paid in dividends.
The report goes on to state traffic volumes have started to rise as lockdown is eased. But the directors believe toll revenue cash flows will continue to be impacted until at least mid-2022.
UK Highways A55 Ltd are part of the larger UK Highways group, which also operates the M40 motorway between Birmingham and west London.