JICA team due tomorrow

A five-member team of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) arrives here tomorrow on a fact-finding mission for implementation of the first phase of Chittagong City Ring Road.
The JICA team would hold meetings with the stakeholders to discuss different aspects of the final report on the portion of the Ring Road to be constructed in the first phase under Coastal Road Project involving around Tk 2,000 crore.
The five-member JICA team would stay in Chittagong till April 20 to discuss different aspects of the final report with Chittagong Development Authority (CDA), Water Development Board, Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) and other stakeholders.
It would also hold discussions with the ministries concerned and the higher authorities of the government in the capital from April 21 to April 23, said sources in CDA.
After the team on fact-finding mission returns home an appraisal team would arrive from Japan to discuss loan and other aspects by June or July before signing an agreement with the government, which is likely to take place by the end of this year, they said.
A 14.702-km road stretching from Patenga to Sagorika (near Chittagong divisional stadium) would be constructed under the Coastal Road Project one of the three major components of the Chittagong City Ring Road Project.
Three feeder roads of a total length of 6.891km would also be constructed to complete the missing links with internal roads of the city in the first phase of the project, sources said.
Implementation period of the Coastal Road Project is five years, including a three-year time for construction. Construction work is to start in 2011 to be completed by the end of 2013, they said.
The Ring Road would expedite road communication and help save the city from tidal surge and flooding, said CDA Chairman Shah Muhammad Akhteruddin.