SHARJAH // Transporting goods by road is about to get more expensive. All lorries passing through one of the emirate's major thoroughfares will have to pay a Dh100 (US$27) toll from 6am today.
Less than a month since Sharjah's executive council approved measures to introduce a toll for heavy goods vehicles on Al Dhaid Road, the booths have been built and the attendants are ready to start collecting fees.
The opening of the toll booths comes after a media campaign and a two-week trial that, every day, saw as many as 5,250 lorries passing through the gates, where drivers were handed brochures explaining the scheme.
Omran al Humairi, the director of the tollgate project for Sharjah's Department of Public Works (DPW), said the trial had been a success and that most lorry drivers and their companies were aware of the new fees. The executive council said the move was designed to help to ease congestion in the emirate.
All lorries up to 49 tonnes in weight will have to pay Dh100, with Dh10 for every tonne thereafter. Sheikh Khaled al Qasimi, the director general of Sharjah DPW, told the executive council last month that the fee would remain at Dh100 until weight sensors are installed.
All drivers must have the right amount of change to pay at the tollgate, and anyone found to be blocking traffic at the gates is liable to be fined Dh2,000.
Mr al Humairi said the DPW received an average of 10 queries a day from truck companies and drivers in the past two weeks.
"Most truckers were asking if we had some discounts or special offers but our answer has repeatedly been, 'No'," he said.
Drivers and companies are already bracing for the financial impact of the changes. Some drivers who regularly use the route estimated that they might have to pay up to Dh3,000 in tolls every month. While most companies are expected to absorb the cost, some drivers might have to pay for it out of their own pockets.
Emad Abduli, 55, from Syria, has been working as a private lorry driver for 10 years, and earns between Dh15,000 and Dh17,000 a month.
"Now I am supposed to pay Dh3,000 for the toll, then another Dh3,000 for the fuel, about Dh2,000 for service and repairing - what is my balance?" he asked. He said he was also renting an apartment and had to pay for his five children to go to school.
Other drivers said it remained unclear whether their companies would reimburse them for the toll.
Sharif Imam, who works for the Yasir Heavy Truckers Company, said: "We are yet to receive any communication on the payment from our bosses. We don't know if they are paying or we are paying from our pockets."
Even though the tollgates were initially said to be a solution to traffic congestion, few alternatives exist for those seeking to avoid paying the Dh100 fee. Lorries are already banned from the narrow Al Dhaid Sijji to Al Dhaid-East Coast Road, which runs through the town of Al Dhaid to Sharjah.
A detour is theoretically available via Ras al Khaimah's Manama Road but it is a longer route and is also subject to tolls. Lorry drivers have resisted taking this route in the past.
Ahmed Rashid, the owner of Ahmed Rashid General Transport, said: "It looks like we shall have to give Dh100 every day to a driver. The risk is some drivers may start misbehaving and passing through Ras al Khaimah after collecting that money from us.
"Dh100 means a lot to some drivers and some could do everything they can to see if they can save some money from it."
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
