Foreigners constructing expressway get tax break extension

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has exempted foreigners working on Dhaka Elevated Expressway from paying taxes on their income for another three years until June 2026.

The previous tax break for the foreign nationals, such as engineers and managers, expired on June 30 this year and the new exemption came into effect from July 1, according to a notification issued last week.

Partially opening last month, the expressway stretches from the Shahjalal airport to Kutubkhali on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway.

Foreigners working on its construction have been enjoying a tax exemption on their income since 2012, said an NBR official earlier.

The expressway opened for vehicular movement around a decade after the government signed a deal with Italian-Thai Development Public Company in 2011 to build it at a cost of Tk 8,703 crore under a public-private partnership.

The agreement was revised, with several changes being brought to the design, and inked again in December 2013 with the cost going up to Tk 8,940 crore.

According to the deal, the government will provide Tk 2,413 crore (27 percent) while the private partner will bear the rest.

The 46.73 km expressway traverses Kawla, Kuril, Banani, Mohakhali, Tejgaon, Moghbazar, Kamalapur, Sayedabad, Jatrabari and Kutubkhali. It is scheduled to complete by June 2024.