Toll rates for Dhaka Elevated Expressway to vary from Tk80 to Tk400: Quader

Depending on the vehicles category, the government has fixed the toll rates on the Dhaka Elevated Expressway at a minimum of Tk80 to a maximum of Tk400, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said today (20 August). 

"The rates were fixed by dividing the vehicles into four categories," he said during a press conference at the Secretariat on Sunday.

According to Quader, the toll for category-I vehicles - encompassing cars, taxis, jeeps, sports utility vehicles, microbuses with fewer than 16 seats, and light trucks weighing less than three tonnes – has been set at Tk80. Category-II - consists of medium trucks with up to six wheels - and Category-III - including trucks with more than six wheels – will have to pay Tk320 and Tk400 respectively. The toll for Category-IV vehicles covering all types of buses with 16 or more seats has been fixed at Tk160. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to inaugurate the Airport-Farmgate part of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway on 2 September.

Subsequently, the Bangabandhu Tunnel in Chattogram will be inaugurated on 28 October. The construction commencement for MRT Line-5 Northern Road in Savar is set for 16 September, followed by the inauguration of the Agargaon to Motijheel section of the Metrorail on 20 October.

The Road Transport Minister noted that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will grace all the aforementioned events.

Moreover, the Prime Minister will virtually inaugurate 140 bridges and 12 overpasses from the newly built road building in Tejgaon on 22 October. Additionally, a vehicle inspection centre will be inaugurated to address vehicle fitness concerns.

"On the day, a ceremony marking Road Safety Day will be held at Sarak Bhaban in the capital's Tejgaon where the PM will inaugurate a compensation programme for the victims of road accidents.

"Families of those killed in accidents will receive Tk5 lakh while those who have been maimed will be provided Tk3 lakh. Eligible parties will need to apply to avail of the facility once the rules in this regard are set," he said.

Addressing concerns about the timing of these inaugurations in relation to upcoming elections, Minister Quader dismissed any political motives, emphasising that the projects are intended to provide essential facilities for citizens and ensure infrastructural advancement.

According to sources at the Bridges Division, the Dhaka Elevated Expressway project was undertaken in 2011 to build a four-lane flyover from the capital's Airport Road to the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway at Kutubkhali on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

Under the project, 31 ramps with a length of 27 kilometres will be constructed along with the 19.73-kilometre main road. In all, the length of the flyover will be 46.73 km.

The expressway is being constructed in three phases. In the first phase, the length of the road from Airport to Banani railway station is 7.45 kilometres. In this phase, installations of 1,452 out of 1,500 piles, 260 out of 350 pile caps, 149 out of 350 cross beams, 227 out of 350 columns, and 605 out of 3,154 eye girders have already been completed. The physical progress of this part is 59%.

In the second phase, the road will be constructed on the Banani to Moghbazar rail crossing, while the Moghbazar-Kutubkhali portion of the flyover will be constructed in the third and final phase.