C T Online Desk: A committee of the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) is looking for a toll solution to ensure that the long-awaited Bangabandhu Tunnel under the Karnaphuli River can compete for traffic with the existing Shah Amanat Bridge.
The tolls for the tunnel will be significantly higher than the tolls for the bridge, as the former is significantly more expensive to maintain than the latter. One of the reasons the tunnel is so much more expensive is that it requires an advanced ventilation system to constantly pump air through it.
The high tolls to use the tunnel are not expected to be a problem in the long-term, as it will eventually provide easy access to the Anwara China Economic and Industrial Zone and the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar Expressway, unlike the Shah Amanat Bridge.
However, both the development projects are stalled and unlikely to be completed in time for the opening of the tunnel in December, leaving little incentive to use it in the short-term.
The Bangabandhu Tunnel may still be used to travel to Cox’s Bazar without the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar Expressway, but it is a more roundabout path than using the Shah Amanat Bridge.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chinese President Xi Jinping officially inaugurated the Anwara China Economic and Industrial Zone while signing the official agreement to construct the Bangabandhu Tunnel on October 14, 2016. Progress of the project has been stalled for the past five years for various reasons, including the Covid-19 pandemic.
The government took up the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar Expressway project in 2015, but the construction is yet to begin.
The BBA committee has been working to determine the tolls for the tunnel since January 22. On May 12, the Bridge Division directed the committee to submit its report on the toll rate as soon as possible.
The committee has since held several meetings, but it is yet to agree on a toll rate due to fears that the bridge will remain unused. BBA sources said a committee meeting in the last month decided that the toll can be at maximum twice that of the Shah Amanat Bridge, however, even this would not be high enough considering the construction cost of the tunnel.
The tunnel has been built at a cost of Tk11,000, including foreign loans.
Traffic will initially be lower than estimated
According to the feasibility study on the tunnel, it will carry an average of 28,305 vehicles per day by 2025. This is expected to increase to 37,946 vehicles by 2030, and 62,000 vehicles by 2067.
According to BBA, an average of 21,270 vehicles have crossed the Padma Bridge each day in July after its opening on June 25. The average traffic through Bangabandhu Bridge over the Jamuna River is below 21,000.
“The Padma Bridge is connected with 21 districts so that traffic volume is up to the mark. But traffic will not be this high through Bangabandhu tunnel. The traffic through the tunnel was estimated considering the completion of other integrated projects,” said Dr Hadiuzzaman, professor at the civil engineering department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet).
Until the completion of the other projects, the BBA will likely have no choice but to set tolls in line with the Shah Amanat Bridge, he added.
“Bangabandhu Tunnel is one of the biggest projects for us. A committee is working to modernize its tolls. The committee has been asked to submit the final report of toll determination soon,” said Quazi Muhammad Ferdous, chief engineer of BBA.
He declined to comment on the toll rate until it was finalized.
Tolls on the Shah Amanat Bridge currently range from Tk10 for motorcycles to Tk750 for trailers. The toll for cars is Tk75.
On the other hand, tolls on the Padma Bridge start with Tk100 for motorcycles to Tk6,000 for trailers. The toll for cars is Tk750.
