Long road ahead to get on the 'development highway'
Roads and highways offocials and experts have said that flawed design, high cost and lack of quality roads is a major obstacle to becoming a developed country and attracting foreign investors.
“There is a perception that in our country the cost of building roads is abnormally high,” said Dr Md Abdullah Al Mamun, director of Bangladesh Roads Research Laboratory (Roads and Highways Department) at the Planning Ministry's National Economic Council auditorium yesterday.
He was speaking at a workshop on “Building Quality Road infrastructure: Challenges and Opportunities”, organised by Roads and Highways Department where Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal spoke as chief guest.
Dr Mamun also said that a study can be done on why the cost of constructing roads is so high in the country.
In his keynote presentation, he identified various problems in the road sector and said the overseeing of roads has to improve and better auditing should be ensured.
General perception of commuters is that the highways have operational weakness, roads are unsafe, and improper maintenance and premature deterioration of pavements are prevalent.
Dr Mamun also said to get on the 'development highway' the country needs 80,000km roads. Of that, around 8,000km will have to be expressway.
However, the major road network in Bangladesh constitutes 21,000km at present, he said.
Referring to the keynote speaker's statement, Prof Md Shamsul Hoque of Buet said there is no expressway in Bangladesh, compared to 11 in Pakistan, 21 in India and 37 in Malaysia.
Prof Hoque said, “We must look into why the cost of road construction in Bangladesh is so high.”
He said roads are like arteries of the human body, which should enable transports to move uninterrupted, but here that is not the case.
The objective of Dhaka-Chittagong 4-lane highway has not been realised, the expert added.
Prof Hoque said the government will have to plan now, so that the major road crossings of the country have adequate space for future infrastructure, allowing vehicles to take turns to different regions.
If that is not done, traffic jams cannot be reduced in future, he added.
Urban planner Mobassher Hossain said underdeveloped countries have a special opportunity -- that they can use the latest technology. Bangladesh will have to make use of that opportunity.
Hossain said every highway should have a service lane, so that small vehicles can ply those and the highways remain open to only heavy and long-distance vehicles.
Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said all road division officials will have to take reform-oriented steps, so that existing obstacles in the sector can be removed.
Roads built with bitumen will not endure in Bangladesh, he said, adding that concrete roads have to be built here, so that they last at least 20 years. At first they may cost more, but if sustainability is taken into account, the cost will be lower than that with bitumen.
Columnist Syed Abul Moksud, Senior Secretary of the Planning Division Ziaul Islam, Secretary of the Road Transport and Highways Division Nazrul Islam, Roads and Highways Department Chief Engineer Ebne Alam Hasan also spoke at event.
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