China to give Tk 9,472cr for Dhaka-Ashulia Expressway

China Exim Bank will provide Tk 9,472.72 crore loan to Bangladesh to implement the 24km four-lane Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway to ease transportation.

The fund will be used for the ‘Construction of Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway’ project as a Preferential Buyer’s Credit (PBC) loan. The project cost is estimated at Tk 16,901 crore. China will provide 65 per cent of the cost as soft loans.

The main objective of the project is to minimise traffic congestion in and around Dhaka-Ashulia areas. The project will be connected to the Dhaka Elevated Expressway and is located within the alignment of the Asian Highway.

On Tuesday, the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Finance Ministry and Exim Bank of China signed a loan agreement at the ERD office. ERD’s Additional Secretary Shahriar Kader Siddiky and Deputy Manager of the China Exim Bank Zhang Tianqin signed the deal for their respective sides.

As per the PBC agreement, the annual interest rate is 2 per cent with a repayment period of 20 years, including a five-year grace period.

The expressway will facilitate the quick entry and exit of vehicles to and from Dhaka. It is expected to come into operation in June 2026, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said last month.

Once built, the second elevated expressway centring Dhaka will connect Hazrat Shahjahal International Airport with Abdullahpur, Ashulia, Baipail, and Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ) on the Nabinagar-Chandra Highway. Vehicles will have to pay toll.

Once implemented, the project will ease traffic congestion in the Abdullahpur Ashulia-Bypail-Chandra corridor connecting Dhaka with 30 districts.

China is one of the most important development partners of Bangladesh. Padma Rail Link Project, Expansion and Strengthening of Power System Network under DPDC Area Project, Multi-Lane Road Tunnel under the River Karnaphuli Project, Development of ICT Infra-Network for Bangladesh Government Phase-III (Info-Sarker 3) Project, and Installation of Single Point Mooring (SPM) with Double Pipe Line project are some of the important projects being implemented with China’s support, according to ERD.

Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Investment and Production Capacity Cooperation for 27 projects worth about $20 billion was signed with China during the visit of Xi Jinping in October 2016, ERD sources said.

Loan agreements for eight projects, including Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway, has been signed out of the 27 listed projects.