Second Dhaka-Ctg highway in limbo

The second Dhaka-Chittagong highway project is gathering dust for over a year after the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) failed to find a suitable firm for the construction in July last year.
Officials concerned say though they are ready to take a fresh move they have yet to get the government nod about it and have no idea when they might avail it.
The RHD is however preparing ground so that it can invite firms for the pre-qualification race soon after getting the permission.
Although initiated in 2005 and approved by the cabinet in July 2006, there is hardly any headway in the project except issuing of an invitation for pre-qualification race in July last year.
"We're waiting for the government nod. We'll issue fresh invitation for pre-qualification of the prospective firms once we get it," Project Director (PD) Kazi Golam Mostafa told The Daily Star yesterday.
He said the project has stopped midway and remains stalled since then as four pre-qualified firms failed to fulfil all the "tough" criteria set by the government.
He said criteria for pre-qualification would be relaxed in the fresh invitation. "The criterion of having experience in constructing 200 kilometres of road in a single project is going to be relaxed."
The four-lane dual carriageway spanning 215 kilometres from Dhaka to Chittagong will be constructed on a build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis.
This would be the first expressway in the country with facilities like adequate parking space, fuelling stations, food courts and rest houses at regular intervals.
This expressway, once built, would cut the journey time between the two major cities to three hours from existing seven to eight hours. It would also help develop the economic corridor between the capital and the port city.
"It will not only ensure safe journey in a smooth traffic environment but also cut operation cost saving fuel," said the PD, adding the proposed highway would provide higher level of service with uninterrupted traffic flow.
A three-route option has been kept open from which one would be selected for the highway.
The first runs parallel to the existing highway, while the second route starts from Jatrabari towards Narayanganj and then moving to the south to cross the Dhaleswari river, Munsiganj, the Meghna and finally reaches Chittagong through Chandpur and Noakhali.
The third probable route begins from Jatrabari to reach Chittagong by crossing Laksham and Feni and will be the shortest and most direct one.
The then cabinet of BNP-led coalition government approved construction of the second highway with private investment on July 4, 2006 on the basis of a proposal made by Malaysia-based construction firm Azimat Consortium.
In its proposal, the firm said it would take five years to complete the construction. After operating for 30 years and recovering the investment through collecting toll, the expressway will be handed over to the government, it proposed.
The communications ministry upon securitisation forwarded the proposal to the high-powered private infrastructure committee (PICOM). The proposal was then placed before the cabinet for final approval.
The proposal includes an option that 20 percent of the construction work would be given to local contractors and an "umbrella scheme" would be implemented to assist them.
The PD said the government would look for the companies who would take bigger risk to invest in the project. He expressed the hope that construction of the highway would begin after a year by completing all formalities.
Asked about the Malaysian firm, he said it will be considered pre-qualified due to its proposal but it has to take part in the race with other firms.
The narrow Dhaka-Chittagong Highway is now in a dismal state which not only eats up valuable time but also incurs huge loss to economy.
"The national highway is considered to be the most important highway and lifeline of commerce in Bangladesh; and carries port and other traffic to Dhaka and other places in the country," reads the executive summary of the project.
Officials at RHD say the second national highway is crucial for smooth passage of increasing number of vehicles and to check deaths of hundreds of people in accidents every year.