2 Narsingdi highways to be widened

The government is planning to widen two regional highways in Narsingdi to ease transportation and boost local trade.

The road transport and bridges ministry had sent the project proposal to the Planning Commission for approval, a senior planning ministry official told The Business Post.

He said cost-effective, improved, and safe roads would be built while upgrading the highways.

Member of the Planning Commission’s Physical Infrastructure Division Md Mamun Al Rashid said the highways would be upgraded to the appropriate width, which would improve people’s overall socio-economic condition in the project area.

The project’s cost is estimated at Tk 984.84 crore, which will come from the government exchequer. The Roads and Highways Department will implement it by June 2025.

According to the project proposal, the 48km Itakhola-Mathkhola-Katiadi road is an important regional highway. The road connects the Dhaka-Sylhet highway from Itakhola in Narsingdi to Katiadi in Kishoreganj.

Of the total length, 32.7km is under the purview of the Narsingdi road division and 15.3km under the Kishoreganj district. The road’s width is 5.5 metres, and it has two lanes.

Of the 32.7km stretch, the first 16km has been strengthened, but the remaining 16.7km has seen no major renovation in many years.

On the other hand, the Raipura-Narsingdi-Madanganj road’s length is 54km. Its width is 5.5 metres, and it has two lanes. It lies parallel to the Thangi-Bhairab railway line.

The project’s main components are acquiring 23.36 hectares of land, widening pavements, reconstructing the existing pavements and culverts, road surfacing, and constructing eight underpasses.