Travelling on the Padma Bridge might not be much enjoyable, as the connecting roads on both sides of the country's longest bridge are likely to be brought under toll system from July, making the entire corridor expensive.
Experts said using the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga Highway along with the Padma Bridge with high tolls may leave a negative impact on the economy, if the government wants to make return from its unprecedented investment for the two infrastructures through charging passengers and goods transportation.
Sources said the 55-kilometre highway is claimed to be the first expressway by controlling access of vehicles from locality for speedy transportation. But, the option of free roads as an alternative has not been ensured before imposing the toll.
The RHD's two-lane road on both sides of the expressway, which has been built for slow moving vehicles (SMVs), will now be shown as free road, making traffic movement difficult - if those want to avoid using the paid road.
Service roads on both sides of the expressway are also not ready for smooth transportation.
According to estimated toll rates of the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga Highway and the Padma Bridge, a truck will have to pay at least Tk 4,000, and each private car, jeep and microbus over Tk 1,100, and each bus Tk 3,000 to cross the corridor, built by
spending more than Tk 411 billion.
According to officials, the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA), implementing agency of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge (PMB) project, is set to introduce toll from the day of its inauguration in June.
The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) is also taking preparation to start collecting toll from the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga Highway from July 1. The expressway was inaugurated in March 2020, after constructing it at a cost of more than Tk 111 billion.
The officials concerned said the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga Highway and the Padma Bridge need huge fund for their regular maintenance and making those operative. These two infrastructures are also not like other highways or bridges, as their operation and maintenance works have been planned to be carried out through foreign firm.
RHD Chief Engineer A K M Manir Hossain Pathan said affordability of people has been considered in fixing the RHD's toll. The agency refrained from introducing it before, as the concept of expressway would not work before completion of the 6.15-km bridge.
"Without inauguration of the Padma Bridge, the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga Highway cannot be considered as an expressway, as the roads on its both sides are not connected," he told the FE.
The RHD initially proposed the per kilometre (pkm) toll rate at Tk 20.18, considering its cost, which is claimed to be the highest pkm cost in Asia. But the toll rate was later reduced to Tk 9.9 pkm after a special team's evaluation.
The BBA is yet to finalise its toll. But the entity is working to fix the rates at one and a half times more than the existing ferry rates to cross the river.
Both the government agencies have also started negotiations with a Korean firm to appoint it as the toll operator for the road and the bridge. The government has to pay a good amount to the company on yearly basis for five years to keep the corridor smooth and operable.
The RHD has taken the first move to make its highway payable as per the Prime Minister's direction to bring the major national highways under toll system, and use the collected money for their repair and maintenance.
A directive in this regard came from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting on September 3, 2019.
However, Chairman of Policy Exchange of Bangladesh Dr M Masrur Reaz opined that it would not be feasible for the government to consider its return from the project investments through toll collection, when both are mega projects with huge expenditure.
The economist said the government must prepare a master-plan on land use or industrial development on both sides of the roads and bridges before those infrastructures are ready for traffic - in order to offset any negative impact (of toll) on the economy.
"The high toll rates will increase the cost of doing business, and it is also not expected for the economy."
The economic contribution of the Padma Bridge is huge with establishment of agro-processing units, logistic network, shipment, and coastal facilities, which are needed to be considered in the master-plan, he told the FE.
smunima@yahoo.com