The toll for the country's first expressway is likely to be Tk 2.0 per kilometre, the same rate of using the national highways, until inauguration of the Padma Bridge, sources said.
They said the 55-kilometre Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga highway would be declared an expressway after the inauguration of the bridge and then the toll will be reviewed and adjusted accordingly.
"As people would not get the full benefit of an expressway before opening the bridge, the toll is planned to be collected at a rate like that of the national highways," said an official.
According to a source, a decision in this regard is likely to be taken at a meeting of the review committee today (Sunday).
The committee of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) was formed in January last to propose the toll rates for the Dhaka-Mawa road.
The RHD in a recent report proposed a base rate of Tk 20.18 for travelling from Jatrabari in Dhaka to Panchchor of Jashore district.
It estimated the rate through reviewing and adjusting the rates of three toll bridges located in between the Dhaka-Mawa-Panchchor.
The toll rate to be introduced for the country's longest bridge over the Padma River was not considered in the assessment as it was not fixed yet.
Official sources said the RHD's toll rates for the Dhaka-Mawa highway have been shared with various stakeholders in January last. It has been proposed to introduce the toll immediately.
However, members of the review committee, including transport owners' association and passengers' welfare association, expressed their opinion against introduction of the toll immediately.
Secretary general of the Passengers' Welfare Association Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury said that most of the review committee members were against introducing the toll before inauguration of the Padma Bridge.
The expressway benefit in real term is still absent on the Dhaka-Mawa highway, he said.
The RHD collects tolls from Buriganga, Arial Kha Bridge and Dholeswari 1 and 2 bridges located within the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga, the country's first and expensive expressway, in accordance with the basis of its toll policy 2014.
The policy rates per km are Tk 400 for 751metres to 1.0 km bridge and Tk 2.0 per km for highway. The RHD's three bridges are 847.3 metres, 450 metres and 850.2 metres respectively.
A part of the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga expressway was opened for traffic in March 2020. Its construction cost was Tk 110.03 billon, which is so far the highest per km.
At present, RHD also collects toll from Hatikamrul-Bonpara road and Chattogram Port connecting road.
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