"We believe that MLFF, designated as a national strategic project, can contribute to economic development and accelerate Indonesia's efforts to become the fourth-largest economic power by 2045," said Lilla Karsay.

Lilla explained that the MLFF project, initiated by the Indonesian and Hungarian governments since 2016, was derived from the success of a similar system implemented in Hungary. This is the largest technology transfer export in modern Hungarian economics.

"Prime Minister Viktor Orbán mentioned in his Annual Assessment that the MLFF project is a success story in Hungary's foreign trade activities in 2021," said Lilla, who has been in Indonesia for seven years.

Lilla added that in the last 10 years, Hungary has been involved in several projects in Indonesia, including in the water treatment sector. A project worth 40 million US dollars, financed through soft loans from the Hungarian government, is now directly benefiting 500,000 Indonesian citizens.

In the field of education, the Hungarian government also provides scholarships for Indonesian students to study in Hungary. "We provide fully-funded higher education scholarships for 110 Indonesian students annually," said Lilla.

"We always want to strengthen and enhance the cooperation that has been built over the past 68 years," emphasized Lilla.

At the same event, Attila Keszeg, President Director of PT Roatex Indonesia Toll System - the implementing body of the MLFF project, expressed confidence that the project under the Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer (DBFOT) scheme with a concession period of 9 years will position Indonesia as one of the most advanced toll road payment technology users in Southeast Asia.

"The project's financing scheme uses toll tariff revenues paid by toll road users as a project settlement tool, so it does not involve any funds from any party in Indonesia during project implementation," explained Attila.

According to Attila, MLFF is the latest toll payment technology based on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which enables toll payment transactions without stopping through smartphone applications and is read via satellite.

"Different from other toll payment technologies, this GNSS-based MLFF does not require reader devices at every location on toll roads, thus providing a more cost-effective solution," concluded Attila.

Furthermore, Attila outlined various benefits that Indonesia will gain from the implementation of MLFF, including the elimination of queues at toll gates, which have been the main cause of congestion on toll roads. World Bank data shows that congestion results in Indonesia suffering economic losses of over 4 billion US dollars annually. Meanwhile, a feasibility study conducted by Roatex in 2000 showed that congestion at toll gates resulted in national economic losses for Indonesia exceeding 300 million US dollars annually.

"The implementation of MLFF will also benefit the environment, as reduced congestion will reduce air pollution and environmental burdens due to the absence of queues and vehicle buildup at toll gates," added Attila.

According to Attila, the implementation of MLFF will facilitate toll road users and increase toll road operator profitability by reducing toll collection costs on a large scale. Additionally, the implementation of MLFF will accelerate Indonesia's digital transformation through toll road payment digitization.

"In addition to boosting GDP growth by ensuring smooth traffic flow of people and goods, MLFF also provides operational transparency that leads to higher tax revenues for Indonesia," concluded Attila.