22,805 vehicles use Dhaka Elevated Expressway in 24 hours

Some 22,805 vehicles used Dhaka Elevated Expressway, which was opened partially to the public on Sunday, in 24 hours from 6:00 am on Sunday to 6:00 am on Monday.

Meanwhile, tolls totalling Tk 1.85 million were collected from these vehicles during the period.

As many as 12,242 vehicles entered the expressway from the entry point near Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) during the period, according to data from Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA)

Besides, around 2,425 vehicles used the expressway from Kuril end, 2,892 from Banani point and 5,246 from Tejgaon end.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the elevated expressway, the country's first large-scale infrastructure project under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, on Saturday.

To the public, it was opened at 6:00 am on Sunday from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Farmgate, allowing traffic to enter from Kawla near the airport, Kuril, Banani and Tejgaon to head in both directions.

There are a total of six entry points and seven exit points at Kawla, Kuril, Banani, Mohakhali and Farmgate.

The DEE is the country's first elevated expressway constructed under the PPP model, with the Bangladesh Bridge Authority as the public partner and the Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited as the private partner.

While the concessionaire agreement was signed to construct the 19.73 km elevated road in three and a half years, full-fledged construction began on January 1, 2020. After two years and eight months, the company, along with its two shareholders, completed 11.5 km.

Upon completion, the Dhaka Elevated Expressway will stretch from Kawla to the Kutubkhali area of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, passing through Kuril, Banani, Mohakhali, Tejgaon, Moghbazar, Kamalapur, Sayedabad and Jatrabari.