The government is going to impose toll on vehicles for using the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga Expressway from July 1.
The Road, Transport, and Highway Division issued a circular signed by Fahmida Hoque Khan, a deputy secretary of the division, in this regard on Sunday which was uploaded on its website on Monday.
As per the circular, Tk10 per km has been fixed as the base toll for the interim period following the approval of the Finance Division.
As per the interim rate of Tk10 per km as the base toll, a medium-sized truck would have to pay Tk550 for using the 55km expressway, aside from paying a separate toll for using the Padma Bridge.
Later, the authorities will fix the final rate based on the Toll Policy-2014.
However, once the authorities start collecting toll from the expressway, they will not collect tolls from three bridges – Buriganga Bridge-1, Dhaleshwari Bridge and Arialkha Bridge, sources said.
As per the interim rate, the toll for a bus would be Tk495, for a car Tk138, and for a bike Tk28. Tolls of other vehicles would be set accordingly.
Currently, a medium-sized truck has to pay Tk2,100 for using the Padma Bridge while it is Tk2,400 for a bus, Tk750 for a car, and Tk100 for a motorcycle.
Thus, a truck has to pay Tk2,650 for using both the expressway and Padma Bridge while a car has to pay Tk888, and a bike Tk155.
However, Bangladesh Bridge Authority on Sunday banned motorbikes on Padma Bridge till further notice.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday inaugurated the Padma Bridge and the authorities opened the bridge for traffic on Sunday.
