Toll rate proposed at Tk 9.9 per km

The toll rate for using the country's first expressway on the Dhaka-Mawa route has been proposed at Tk 9.9 per kilometre, sources said.
A committee on Sunday agreed on the rate after withdrawal of tolls for all three bridges on the corridor and reviewing the toll rates fixed by Roads and Highways Department (RHD) earlier.
According to the proposal, a medium-size truck will have to pay Tk 544.5 and bus Tk 490.50 for travelling 55-kilometre highway from Jatrabari in Dhaka to Panchchor in Jashore district.
Sources said the toll rate will, however, be imposed for an interim period until opening of Padma Bridge.
The meeting held at the conference room on Sunday with Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD) Secretary Nazrul Islam in the chair also proposed introducing the toll rate from July after completing necessary formalities including assessment of the rates for all other vehicles.
"The meeting has discussed and agreed to a point on the kilometre rate for travelling on Dhaka-Mawa highway. But it will take time and the decision may be changed during the approval process," said a source who attended the meeting.
The RHD in its January report proposed Tk 20.18 base rate per km for travelling from Jatrabari in Dhaka to Panchchor in Jashore district by assessing tolls for existing three bridges and other toll roads. As per this toll rate, a medium-size truck will have to pay Tk 1,100 for 55-km highway.
The RHD collects tolls from Buriganga, Arial Kha Bridge and Dhaleswari-1 and 2 bridges on Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga Expressway in accordance with its toll policy 2014.
It collects Tk 475, Tk 445, Tk 451 from mini-sized trucks for three bridges which are 847.3 metres, 450 metres and 850.2 metres in length respectively.
The rates are Tk 400 per kilometre for 751-metre to 1.0-km bridge and Tk 2.0 for per km highway.
RHD sources said the authority has tried to keep the rate at reasonable level by withdrawing the tolls for the existing toll bridges. They said it would have been much higher if the toll policy 2014 was followed.
The RHD chief engineer, Dhaka zone additional chief engineer, RTHD official, secretary general of Dhaka Road Transport Owners Association Khandaker Enayet Ullah and secretary general of Passengers Welfare Association Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury were present at the meeting.

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