The government has collected so far Tk3,000 crore as revenue from the users of the Padma Bridge since its opening on 25 June 2022, Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) said in a statement on Tuesday.
It said the bridge that connected 21 southwestern districts with the rest of the country was increasingly drawing various types of motorised 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 agriculture, fisheries & livestock and industries.
