A stakeholder meeting was held on the report of the high-level committee formed to bring the different Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) systems prevalent on the country's roads, bridges, flyovers, expressways and tunnels under a single and interoperable network.
This important meeting, organized on June 24, 2026 at the conference room of the Bridges Department, was presided over by Mr. Mohammad Abdur Rouf, Secretary of the Bridges Department and Executive Director of the Bangladesh Bridges Authority. Representatives of various government agencies, private stakeholders, technology experts and journalists were present at the meeting.
The meeting discussed in detail the architecture of a self-contained and single platform proposed by the committee, which can be implemented at a very low cost and in a short time. In this plan, the existing RFID-based ETC systems will be interconnected to the central network through API.
Considering the overall scope of work, it has been recommended to implement the system through the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Department or any of its subordinate organizations. In order to reduce customer harassment and complexity, a policy decision has been taken to use only a single RFID Tag provided by BRTA instead of using separate tags of different organizations.
In addition, an integrated mobile app will be developed for the convenience of users, through which all necessary services including registration, toll information, digital payment, traffic alerts will be available. The stakeholders and experts present highly appreciated the proposed platform and at the same time, they laid special emphasis on ensuring flawless security of the system and financial transactions along with simplifying the customer registration and toll payment system.
In the chairman's speech, Secretary of the Bridges Department Mr. Mohammad Abdur Rouf said that one of the main foundations of the modern communication system of the Honorable Prime Minister is smart infrastructure and cashless transactions.
To further accelerate the revolutionary changes that have taken place in the communication system due to the construction of expressways, tunnels and flyovers in different parts of the country, it is now necessary to introduce 100% automated management at toll plazas.
Through this, it will be possible to reduce the time and waste of fuel for vehicles to travel to zero. He also expressed optimism that in the light of this fruitful discussion of the stakeholders, a final, up-to-date and effective roadmap and recommendations will be presented to the government very soon.
The meeting discussed in detail the limitations of the separate systems currently used in various toll plazas in the country, including the Padma Bridge, Jamuna Bridge, Dhaka-Mawa Expressway, Mayor Hanif Flyover and Karnaphuli Tunnel, and the resulting suffering of the public. This single toll system will play a role as a groundbreaking step in ensuring transparency and accountability and achieving the government's goal of forming a 'cashless society'.
Representatives from the Road Transport and Highways Department, Local Government Department, Information and Communication Technology Department, Bangladesh Bank, BRTA, National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC), a2i, Roads and Highways Department, Dhaka South City Corporation, Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Bangladesh Passenger Welfare Association, various banks and Mobile Financial Services (MFS) and national media, among others, were present at the meeting and provided their valuable opinions and technical advice.
