Govt to make profit from Padma Bridge tolls: Finance minister
A joint venture of South Korea and China has been awarded a contract to collect tolls from the Padma Bridge project
The government plans to make some profits by collecting revenue from the Padma Bridge project in order to implement more similar projects alongside paying for all bridge-related maintenance activities, said Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.
"This will be a win-win situation for both [bridge] users and the government," he said while briefing the media following two consecutive meetings of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase (CCPP) on Thursday.
In the CCPP meeting, the proposal to appoint a joint venture between Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC) and China Major Bridge Engineering Company Limited (MBEC) for the maintenance and toll collection activities of the Padma Bridge was approved.
Asked for how many years the government would collect tolls to recover the construction cost of the Padma Bridge, the finance minister said, "We have not worked out the details yet." The toll rates of the bridge have not yet been fixed either, he added.
"We expected that the construction of the bridge would be completed by this March but that did not happen. I am still hopeful that the Padma Bridge will be operational by June."
"But we have no control over the world situation, including the Ukraine-Russia war. Because of this war, no one can project anything effectively now. There is no condition to commit. Yet we are hopeful. This year we want to see the end of it," said the minister.
The finance minister said Thursday's CCGP meeting approved 10 of 11 proposals as the ICT Division withdrew the proposal on the Establishing Digital Connectivity (EDC) project.
Joining the briefing virtually, Md Zillur Rahman Chowdhury, additional secretary to the Cabinet Division, said the Korean and Chinese joint venture would act as the service provider/operator for the Padma Bridge at a cost of Tk692.92 crore.
The CCGP meeting also approved the Ministry of Shipping proposal to appoint the joint venture of Kunhwa Engineering and Consulting Company Ltd, Korea, and Daeyoung Engineering Company Ltd, Korea, as the international consultants with around Tk126.50 crore for the PPP project to construct the Bay Terminal in Chattogram, Zillur said.
He said the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) under the Ministry of Agriculture would procure some 40,000 metric tons of diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser from MAADEN, Saudi Arabia, in a second lot, at a cost of Tk339.13 crore.
Zillur said yesterday's meeting also approved three separate proposals from the Ministry of Industries for importing 30,000 metric tons of bulk prilled (optional) urea fertiliser, 10,000 metric tons of phosphoric acid, and 30,000 metric tons of bagged granular urea fertiliser.
Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) will procure 30,000 metric tons of bulk prilled (optional) urea fertilizer from Muntajat, Qatar, in a 14th lot for Tk247.11 crore where the price per ton of fertiliser would be $1,255, the additional secretary said.
The BCIC will procure 10,000 metric tons of phosphoric acid from M/S RK Enterprise, Dhaka, (Chief Supplier: M/S Sun International FZE, UAE), for around Tk83 crore where the price per ton of phosphoric acid would be $963.90, he said.
Zillur said the BCIC will procure another 30,000 tonnes of bagged granular urea fertiliser from Kafco, Bangladesh, in a 16th lot at a cost of around Tk242 crore, where the price per ton of fertiliser would be $935.
The meeting approved a Ministry of Water Resources proposal under which package number DR-01, Lot-E, has been awarded to the joint venture of Aqua Marine Dredging Ltd and Nabarun Traders Ltd, with around Tk27.45 crore for protecting structures on the left embankment from the erosion of River Padma at Charghat and Bagha upazilas in Rajshahi.
Apart from these, today's CCGP meeting approved two proposals of the Road Transport and Highways Division and one proposal from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works.
Prior to the CCGP meeting, the 10th meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) was held on Thursday virtually with Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in the chair.
The meeting approved a proposal, in principle, to sign a contract for the import of some 6.60 lakh metric tons of urea fertiliser by BCIC from SABIC Agri-nutrients Company, Saudi Arabia.