How are tolls adjusted on concession motorways?
In all six countries the toll is indexed to inflation once a year. Everything else differs:
- How inflation passes through: in full in most countries; in France, as a fraction plus a fixed component; in Korea, as a ceiling on the increase.
- Whether there is a real or productivity component: Chile's real adjustment and Brazil's X Factor.
- Who decides: the concessionaire sets and notifies in Korea and Greece; the regulator authorises in Brazil; the State approves by decree in France and Chile.
- How new works are paid for through tolls: additional increases in France, increases agreed in amendments in Chile, a review of the base tariff in Brazil.
| Country | Index | When | Who sets or approves | Distinctive feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chile | CPI + real adjustment | 10 January; earlier if cumulative CPI exceeds 15% | Concessionaire under the tender rules; changes by Ministry of Public Works decree | Real adjustment of up to 3.5%, suspended since 2020 on two urban motorways; road-safety bonus of up to 5% |
| Brazil | IPCA | Annually, on the base date | ANTT, by resolution in the Official Gazette | Prior annual review with quality, discount and productivity factors |
| Peru | Half US CPI, half Peruvian CPI | 10 January | Concessionaire; OSITRAN for extraordinary adjustments | Extraordinary adjustment if prices move by more than 10% within the year |
| France | CPI excluding tobacco | 1 February | Concessionaire; avenants approved by decree in the Conseil d'État | Minimum increase of 70% to 85% of inflation; works paid for with additional increases |
| Greece | CPI | First ten days of January | Concessionaire, notifying the State one month ahead | The toll cannot fall from one year to the next |
| South Korea | CPI | Once a year | Concessionaire notifies; the authority may adjust | The increase cannot exceed the previous year's inflation |
What the contracts say
Chile. In December 2019 the parties agreed that a partir del 1 de enero de 2020… la Sociedad Concesionaria no aplicará reajuste real a las tarifas
(from 1 January 2020 the concessionaire will apply no real adjustment to tolls), citing la necesidad de adecuar el sistema de reajuste de tarifas al actual contexto social y económico
(the need to adapt the adjustment system to the current social and economic context).Supreme Decree MOP 150/2019, Ad Referendum Agreement No. 8, Autopista Central, pp. 2 and 5
Brazil. A Tarifa de Pedágio será reajustada anualmente para incorporar a variação do IPCA
(the toll is adjusted annually for IPCA inflation); beforehand, ANTT reviews it mediante aplicação do Fator Q, Fator C, Fator D e Fator X
(by applying the Q, C, D and X factors).Rota do Oeste (BR-163/MT) concession contract, cl. 18.3 and 18.4, pp. 35–37
Peru. En la eventualidad de que… se produzca una variación de más del diez por ciento (10%)… el REGULADOR procederá a realizar un reajuste extraordinario.
(If prices move by more than 10%, the regulator makes an extraordinary adjustment.)IIRSA Norte concession contract, Economic Regime, p. 73
France. Works are paid for through tolls: une majoration des tarifs, valorisée à 2 M€ HT… à l'occasion de la hausse annuelle des tarifs suivant la mise en service de l'élargissement… de l'autoroute A75
(a toll increase worth €2m excluding VAT, applied at the annual increase after the A75 widening opens).Décret 2015-1044, APRR 16th avenant, motorway stimulus plan
Greece. Σε κάθε περίπτωση, το ΒΤΔn δεν μπορεί να είναι μικρότερο του ΒΤΔn-1
(in any case, a year's toll cannot be lower than the previous year's).Attiki Odos 2024 concession, Law 5141/2024, FEK A 156/2024, art. 18.2.3, p. 143
South Korea. 통행료는 원칙적으로 연1회에 한하여 변경할 수 있다
(the toll may in principle be changed only once a year), within the previous year's inflation and with notice to the authority.Incheon Airport Expressway concession agreement (1995), art. 48, p. 23