The Bridges Division on Tuesday through a gazette notification announced tolls for the country's largest bridge, Padma Bridge.
It said the toll will be applicable for all kinds of transports from the day of inauguration of the bridge, expected end of next month.
Tolls for motor cycle, private cars, buses, trucks, covered van and trailers, and other modes of motor vehicles will range from Tk 100 to Tk 6,000.
Sources said the gazette was published after receiving the Prime Minister's consent a day before.
They said the rates in the gazette are the same proposed earlier by the Bridges Division.
According to the gazette, the toll rates for motorcycle have been fixed at Tk 100, private car and jeep Tk 750, pick-up van Tk 1,200, microbus Tk 1,300, 31-seat bus Tk 1,400, 32-seat and above buses Tk 2,000 and bus with three axle Tk 2,400.
Truck of five-tonnes will pay Tk 1,600 toll, over five-tonne to eight-tonne Tk 2,100, eight-tonne above to 11-tonne Tk 2,800, truck with three axle Tk 5,500, trailer up to four axle Tk 6,000 and trailer above four axle will pay Tk 1,500 addition to Tk 6,000 for each axle.
The gazette signed by Deputy Secretary Mohammad Abul Hasan on the President's instruction said the toll rates will be effective from the day of inauguration of the bridge for public transport.
Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) has been trying to complete the Padma multipurpose bridge to be connected with 22 southwestern districts by June. It has already given the indication to be able to inaugurate the 6.15-kilometre bridge last week of June.
The BBA formed the committee to work on proposing the toll rates for the country's expensive bridge reviewing the toll policy 2015 and tolls of other bridges including Bangabandhu Jamuna Bridge, Meghna, Gumti and Muktarpur bridges.
It was proposed to be fixed 1.5 times higher than the average toll paid in ferries on the River Padma.
The toll rates of the Tk 301.93 billion Padma bridge are, however, much higher than Jamuna Bridge, the country's second largest bridge after Padma, inaugurated in 1998 at a cost of around Tk 39.00 billion.
Tolls for heavy vehicles, for example buses and trucks, are fixed more than double.
The Padma multipurpose bridge is Sheikh Hasina-led government's priority project taken soon after it came to power in January 2009.
It has gone through various challenges since launching including funding crisis and design faults leading to revising the deadline four times to complete the bridge.
The Padma Bridge which is designed in two-tier with steel-truss composite keeping road on the top and rail below is claimed to be the deepest foundation bridge in the world. Linking the capital with 21 southwestern districts, the bridge is expected to contribute 1.0 per cent to the national GDP.
smunima@yahoo.com