Bangladesh's Chinese-built Padma Bridge goes cashless with electronic toll collection system

DHAKA, July 6 (Xinhua) -- An experimental electronic toll collection system has been installed on Wednesday at Bangladesh's largest Padma Bridge to help alleviate traffic congestion, reduce delay and fuel consumption.

The smart toll collection system was inaugurated by Secretary of Bridges Division of Bangladeshi Road Transport and Bridges Ministry Monjur Hossain on Wednesday.

The trial utilized radio frequency identification and started at 14 booths out of 17 of the Padma Bridge. Registered vehicles will be detected by robotic cameras, and the tolls will be automatically deducted when they approach the toll plaza, officials said.

The Padma Bridge, with a 6.15-km-long main bridge, was undertaken by the China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group Co, Ltd. and opened to traffic in June last year. It was the largest and most challenging infrastructure project in Bangladesh's history.

According to the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry, a total of 5.67 million vehicles used the bridge from Jun 25, 2022 to Jun 24, 2023, and the revenues generated by the bridge totaled over 8 billion taka (73 million U.S. dollars).