A memorandum of understanding has been signed over the maintenance for the Padma Bridge but the amount of toll to use the bridge is yet to be determined, says senior Cabinet member Obaidul Quader.
The road transport and bridges minister made the announcement while briefing the media on Thursday (Sept 12).
He was speaking after the signing ceremony of an MoU regarding running and supervising the operations of Padma Bridge and toll collection with Korean Express Corporation at the Bangladesh Bridge Authority offices in the capital’s Banani.
Under the agreement, a team of the corporation will visit the area and propose a technical and financial plan regarding the operations of the bridge.
They will be responsible for operating the traffic information application for the bridge which will enable the bridge authorities to track necessary information from any device.
Responding to queries on double the toll being imposed for crossing Padma Bridge, he said, “The fee hasn’t been determined yet, neither have discussions taken place. How can the estimation be double or triple?”
On the ruling Awami League’s student wing Chhatra League issue, the minister said that the prime minister was handling the matter. “Do you think the Chhatra League issue gets more priority than any other issue in the country?”
Regarding the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and the people left out of it, he said, “The Indian government assured us that there was no reason to worry.”
He added that they were still monitoring the situation regardless.