Significant increase in BIWTC\\\'s income from ferry services

The income of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) from the ferry services increased significantly after installation of weighbridge scales at the ferry ghats last year, data showed.
The BIWTC installed four weighbridge scales on January 3 and December 27 in 2013 before both ways of Mawa-Charjannat and Paturia-Doulatdia at a cost of Tk 37.55 million aiming to detect overloaded vehicles using the ferries and to collect service charges from them based on load.
According to data available with the BIWTC, from the date of installation of the weighbridge (machine to weigh vehicles) scales, the office earned around Tk 8.0 million additional fares every month from both ways of ferry services of each ghat.
BIWTC Chairman Md Mizanur Rahman said there was an option of ferry services to impose charge based on weight of carriers but due to absence of such scales the office had been deprived of a large amount of royalties for a long.
"We are happy with the increased amount of income from the ferry services. Now we can think of more charity in other services where private operators do not want to do business," Mr Rahman told the FE.
"Installation of weighbridge scale has also established proper justice to the carriers," he added.
However, a general manager of BIWTC, preferring anonymity, said income from the services could be more than double if the authority could charge the carriers according to the office's existing ceiling.
According to the existing ceiling, a carrier having weight up to 11 tonnes could enjoy ferry services with a charge of Tk 1,460 to Tk 1,850 depending on routes. But after installation of the scale the government increased the highest limit of weight up to 23.5 tonnes in the face of opposition from the private transport operators which lessened their expected amount of additional income from the services.
After installation of the scale, the BIWTC charges Tk 157 to the carriers for each tonne of extra weight in their vehicles.
"If the government did not increase the weight limit, then income from the services would be double," the general manager said.
However, Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan said his office has a plan to install the same type of scales in all other ferry ghats across the country.
"After gaining a positive experience from the newly installed weighbridge scale, we have decided to install similar scales in each way of all the ferry ghats," he added.
According to him, weighbridge scales for Chandpur-Sariatpur ferry ghat reached the Chittagong port from Holland.
There are five points where the BIWTC is currently operating ferry services.