The Dhaka Elevated Expressway will remain toll-free for six hours on Saturday, marking National Revolution and Solidarity Day.
All vehicles will be allowed to use the expressway free of charge from 6:00am to 12pm.
The Bangladesh Bridge Authority announced the decision in a press release on Tuesday.
According to the press release, the toll-free facility will apply to all vehicles using the expressway during the designated six-hour period.
Last year, the expressway was kept toll-free for four hours on December 25, when BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman returned home from London after nearly 17 years. The BNP organised a public reception to mark his return.
The expressway also operated without toll collection for several days after toll plazas were damaged during the July Mass Uprising.
Built under a public-private partnership (PPP), the Dhaka Elevated Expressway was partially opened to traffic in September 2023.
Currently, the operational section stretches from Kawla, near Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, to the FDC intersection in the capital. Vehicles are normally charged tolls for using the expressway.
Toll rates vary by vehicle category. Cars, taxis, sports utility vehicles (SUVs), microbuses with fewer than 16 seats and light trucks weighing less than three tonnes are charged Tk80.
Medium trucks with up to six wheels are charged Tk320, while trucks with more than six wheels pay Tk400. Buses with 16 or more seats are charged Tk160.
Rickshaws, motorcycles and auto-rickshaws are not allowed on the expressway.
The 19.73-kilometre expressway is designed to connect Kawla, near Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, with Kutubkhali near Jatrabari on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway, passing through Tejgaon, Moghbazar and Kamalapur along the railway corridor.
However, construction of the full route is yet to be completed.
The project comprises two components: the main construction work and associated works.
The main construction component has an estimated cost of Tk8,940 crore, of which the government is contributing Tk2,413 crore, with the remaining amount being financed by the investor consortium.
A separate project covers land acquisition, rehabilitation of affected people and consultancy services, with its entire cost borne by the government. The estimated cost of this component is Tk4,917 crore.
The combined estimated cost of the two projects stands at Tk13,857 crore.
The project was initiated in 2009, and the construction agreement was signed in 2011. The construction period was initially set at three and a half years, but the project could not be completed within the stipulated timeframe.