In 2013, the government of Bangladesh decided to develop the Dhaka-Chattogram National Highway into an expressway based on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) but backtracked from the plan last year.
However, the highway, also known as the 'lifeline' of Bangladesh’s economy, is already bearing manifold the load than its capacity. As a result, instead of making an expressway through PPP, the government has decided to widen the existing four-lane highway to eight lanes and construct service lanes on both sides. According to the latest plan, the detailed designing and surveying will be started in March.
According to the Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD), the entire highway will not comprise eight lanes. Depending on the traffic pressure, there will be six lanes in some places, and eight lanes in others with two service lanes to be constructed on both sides.
RTHD Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Noori made the remarks in a discussion session on the proposed design of the project, organised by the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) at the Circuit House in Chattogram on Sunday.
He said, “We will sit with all the stakeholders for consultation before finalising the design.”
However, the secretary did not give any idea about the cost of widening the 232 km highway from Jatrabari in Dhaka to City Gate in the port city.
Sources at RTHD said that upgrading the highway to eight lanes will cost more than Tk 73,000 crore. The entire widening work will be done through three different projects.
The projects will be implemented in three districts ‑ Dhaka, Narayanganj and Munshiganj. The length of the road in this part is 38 kilometres. The implementation of it will cost Tk 8,268 crore. Another project will be in two districts (Comilla and Feni) and the length of the road is 125 km and the implementation will cost some Tk 45,941 crore.
Another will be implemented in the greater Chattogram area which will mainly be from Feni to City Gate. It will cost Tk 18,942 crore. The length of this section is estimated at 69 km.
A total of Tk 73,150 crore is estimated as the cost of these three projects. Out of this, a loan of Tk 50,000 crore is being sought from the development partners while the rest of it will be provided by the government. RHD has set a target of completing road widening work by 2029, starting in 2024.
Three separate projects have been proposed to avoid the complexity of the project, they said.
Under the highway widening project, overpasses will be provided at places where traffic jams may occur from Madanpur in Narayanganj, Comilla, and Bariyarhat in Chattogram to City Gate. Wherever the roads are curved, they will be straightened. It is a priority project of the government. Many development agencies have shown interest in funding the project.
Earlier, the government took up a project in 2006 to upgrade the Dhaka-Chattogram highway to four lanes. The project was extended in two phases and ended in 2016. The cost of the project increased from Tk 2,000 crore to Tk 4,000 crore. The 192-km four-lane road from Comilla's Daudkandi toll plaza to the port city’s City Gate was inaugurated in 2016.
