Staff Reporter:
The government has collected so far Tk. 3,000 crore as revenue from the users of the Padma Bridge since its June 25, 2022 opening, Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA), a statement said yesterday.
It said the bridge that connected 21 southwestern districts with the rest of the country was increas-ingly drawing various types of motorized traffic to fatten the government exchequer.
“The Padma Bridge is not just an infrastructure. It is the lifeblood of our economy,” the statement read.
It said the state-of-the-art electronic toll collection (ETC) system was installed at both ends of the Padma Bridge at Mawa and Jajira points, which accelerated the toll collection process without long queues at the toll plaza.
“The automatic toll collection through Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) cards has made travel faster and easier,” the statement said.
It said Road Transport and Bridges Ministry Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Secretary of the Bridge Division Mohammad Abdur Rouf, who is also BBA’s executive director, and concerned officials were continuously monitoring the entire process.
The statement said alongside saving travel time the bridge created employment as well to play a positive impact on the growth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) facilitating the agri-culture, fisheries & livestock and industries.
