Kushtia-Jhenaidah highway to be made four-lane

The government is planning to upgrade the 66.82km Kushtia-Jhenaidah highway via Lalon Shah Bridge into four lanes to establish sub-regional transport connectivity with neighbouring countries, including India, Nepal, Myanmar, and China.

The project aims to connect the South Asian Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) corridor to boost trade with these countries.

In this regard, the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges has prepared a project titled “WeCARE Phase-I [AIIB Part]: Kushtia [Lalon Shah Bridge]-Jhenaidah Highway [N-704] Improvement” to connect South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), and Asian Highway Network.

The ministry has sent the project proposal to the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the finance ministry, asking them to negotiate with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for investing in the project.

“AIIB has already expressed their keen interest in providing loan assistance for the project. We will start the negotiation with the lender,” a senior official of ERD told The Business Post.

The cost of the project is estimated at Tk 5,513.98 crore. AIIB will provide Tk 3,493.72 crore while Tk 2,020.25 crore will come from the government exchequer.

The Roads and Highways Department will implement the project from January 2022 to December 2026.

The project area covers three upazilas of Kushtia, and three of Jhenaidah.

According to the project proposal, separate lanes for the slow movement of vehicles will be constructed along with flyovers in busy areas on the highways.

Bhomra - Satkhira -Navaron - Jashore -Jhenaidah-Bonpara-Hatikumrul is a major route of the western economic corridor with a length of 260 kilometres.

The World Bank and AIIB will improve the corridor under the WeCARE Programme.

The corridor is divided into four portions – 58km Bhomra-Satkhira-Navaron, 48.5km Jashore-Jhenaidah, 66km Jhenaidah-Kushtia, and 87.5km Kushtia-Bonpara-Hatikumrul.

The World Bank will provide loan assistance for the Bhomra-Satkhira-Navaron and Jashore-Jhenaidah portions while AIIB will give loans for the Jhenaidah-Kushtia and Kushtia-Bonpara-Hatikumrul segments.

Considering the initial importance, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved the Tk 4,187.7 crore “WeCARE Phase-1: Jhenaidah-Jashore Highway (N-7) Improvement” project on November 24 in 2020.

The World Bank’s commitment was Tk 2,705.65 crore for the project. The time frame of the project is from January 2021 to December 2023.