Adviser to the Ministry of Housing and Public Works Adilur Rahman Khan inaugurated the toll collection system at Patenga end of the first elevated expressway in Chattogram on Friday.
Initially, the expressway was named after the late former Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury. Now, it has been renamed ‘Shaheed Wasim Akram Flyover’ in honor of Wasim Akram, a martyr of the anti-discrimination student movement in Chattogram.
Mahfuzur Rahman, project director and executive engineer of the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA), at the event said that four toll booths have been set up at the Patenga end to facilitate toll collection. He said that ten types of vehicles, except motorcycles and trailers, are permitted to use the expressway in Chattogram.
Toll rates have been fixed for the vehicles range from Tk 30 to Tk 450.
CNG-run auto-rickshaws (three-wheelers) have to pay Tk 30, Tk 80 for cars, Tk 100 for jeep and microbus, Tk150 for pickup, Tk 200 for minibus and trucks (four-wheel), Tk 280 for bus, Tk 300 for truck (six-wheel) and Tk 450 for covered van.
The 16-kilometre expressway, stretching from Lalkhan Bazar to Patenga, was constructed by the CDA at a cost of Tk 4,298.95 crore to improve connectivity and boost the regional economy.
On November 14, 2023, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the project virtually. However, full traffic movement on the flyover had not begun at that time. The elevated expressway began trial operations in August last year.
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