Photo : Collected
The Padma Bridge has markedly boosted government revenue since its inauguration, collecting a staggering Tk 1,500 crore in tolls from the vehicles that have crossed it.
Amirul Islam Chowdhury, additional director of the Padma Bridge Site office, reported that till 11:59pm on Saturday, a total of Tk 15,02,62,15,900 in tolls was collected while 1,12,91,095 vehicles had crossed the bridge since its opening.
The much-anticipated bridge first opened to traffic on June 25, 2022. It is an architectural marvel of the country.
Detailed traffic analysis shows that approximately 56,01,232 vehicles used the Mawa entry point while 56,89,863 crossed the Jajira point.
A notable record was set on April 9 this year when the bridge saw its highest single-day toll collection, which amounted to Tk 4.9 crore from the crossing of 45,204 vehicles.
The bridge was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on June 25 in 2022 and was opened to traffic the following morning, marking a significant milestone in the country’s infrastructure development and economic enhancement.
The nearly $4 billion mega project connects the capital, Dhaka, to the southwestern region of the country. The construction of the 6.15km bridge started in November 2015 to connect 21 districts of the country’s southwest with Dhaka via road and rail, thereby cutting travel time markedly.
The double-layer steel truss bridge incorporates a four-lane highway on an upper level along with a single-track railway on the lower level. This is one of the largest mega projects Bangladesh has ever undertaken, and the entire amount came from the Bangladesh government’s exchequer.
In 2012, the World Bank withdrew from a $1.2 billion loan agreement for the project following allegations of corruption. Later, other donors, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), also pulled out of the project. Hasina then declared that her government would self-fund the project.
Messenger/Fameema
