ADB gives $300m for Ctg-Cox's Bazar rail link

The government yesterday signed agreements with the Asian Development Bank to get $300 million in loans to build a dual-gauge rail link between Chittagong and Cox's Bazar with the view to promoting trade and regional connectivity.

The assistance is part of the $1.5 billion loan that the Manila-based multilateral lender has committed to the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Chittagong-Cox's Bazar Railway Project.

The project, which is closely aligned with Bangladesh's seventh five-year plan, will provide efficient, safe and environmentally-friendly railway transport, said Jyotsana Varma, principal country specialist of ADB, who signed the agreements on behalf of the lender.

Scheduled to open in 2022, the 102 kilometre-rail link aims to transport 2.9 million passengers annually between Chittagong and Cox's Bazar by 2025.

The project design will integrate features that are friendly to the elderly, women, children, and people with disabilities, Varma said.

The construction of the railway station is one of several ADB railway projects helping Bangladesh meet its targets under the latter's five-year plan and a railway master plan, said the statement.

It will help boost Bangladesh Railway's freight market share to 15 percent and passenger market share to 10 percent by 2020. Both currently stand at about 4 percent.

The rail link forms part of the Trans-Asia Railway network, an initiative led by the United Nations aiming to provide seamless rail links between Asia and Europe to better connect people and markets.

Kazi Shofiqul Azam, secretary at the Economic Relations Division, signed the agreements on behalf of the government.