Bangladesh
Padma Bridge | Toll Government to collect Tk 1,604 toll from Padma Bridge
Dhaka, June 13: The monthly toll collection target from Padma Bridge has been set at Tk 133.66 crore. As for the year, it will be Tk 1,603.97 crore. Apart from the maintenance of the bridge, the Bangladesh Bridge Authority will repay the loan for the construction cost with this money. The bridge authority will pay Tk 36,000 crore with interest to the government of Bangladesh itself in 35 years, not to any development partner or organization.
According to the Bangladesh Bridge Authority, the Padma Multipurpose Bridge was constructed at a cost of Tk 30,193.39 crore with the own funds of the Bangladesh government. The Bangladesh Bridge Authority has taken the entire loan from the government.
According to paragraph 2 of the agreement, the loan has to be repaid in 140 installments over 35 years with interest at the rate of 1 percent per annum after completion of the project. Besides, Tk 340 crore has to be paid as against Tk 211 crore taken during the preparation of the design.
In this regard, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said that the Bangladesh Bridge Authority has taken a loan from the government for the construction of the bridge. In the next 35 years, the government will be paid Tk 36,000 crore with interest. Money is needed to pay off debts, bridge maintenance and maintenance costs, river management and toll taxes and VAT collected. This money will be collected by imposing toll on the vehicles plying on the bridge.
According to the Bangladesh Bridge Authority, the toll has been increased by a maximum of 50 percent based on the existing toll rates for ferry crossings. According to the toll rate collected by BIWTC on the Mawa-Jajira route ferries currently operating on the ferry (as of November 2020), Tk 5.60 crore per month and Tk 67.20 crore per annum are collected. If it is one and a half times, the toll will be Tk 103.85 crore at Tk 8.65 crore per month.
On the other hand, according to the detailed economic and financial analysis report of the Padma Bridge submitted in 2010 by the consulting firm, the toll will be Tk 133.66 lakh per month as one and a half times the toll rate of the ferry as a traffic forecast for 2022. On the basis of this report, the government expects to collect toll of Tk 1,603.97 crore annually.
