An alternative gateway to Dhaka

The project to upgrade Hatirjheel-Amulia-Demra highway into a four-lane expressway is finally moving forward. The planned thoroughfare will work as an alternative gateway to Dhaka's centre from Chattogram and Sylhet, and help reduce traffic congestion.

To implement the project under public-private partnership (PPP), Roads and Highways Department (RHD) will sign a contract with a Chinese consortium on Sunday, officials said.

After signing the contract, the consortium will get a nine-month period to start physical work. Within this time, project authorities will have to hand over land, and the consortium will have to manage funds, they said.

Once the work starts, it is expected to take four years to build the controlled-access expressway.

The consortium of China Communications Company Ltd and China Road and Bridge Corporation will invest Tk 2,094 crore, and the government Tk 1209.6 crore.

Once the expressway is open to public, the current 16.5 km route from Hatirjheel to Demra will be reduced to 13 km, and it will only take around 10 minutes to reach one end, instead of about an hour. However, people will have to pay a toll for using the road.

The development came five years after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the project in principle in January 2016. This is the second PPP project under RHD that has reached this stage.

RHD is working on six PPP projects, but physical work for only one, upgrading Dhaka Bypass Road into a four-lane expressway, has started. The other projects are at preparatory stages.

HOW WILL THE EXPRESSWAY BENEFIT TRAFFIC?

Dhaka is connected to two major cities, Chattogram and Sylhet, by two national highways, Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Sylhet. But, entrance and exit points of the two busiest highways are located at the capital's Jatrabari area.

Vehicles, after entering Dhaka through the highways, put huge pressure on the roads and often create severe traffic congestion in the southern part of the city.

So, the government planned to turn the existing Hatirjheel-Rampura-Banasree-Shekher Jayga-Amulia-Demra route into an controlled-access expressway to reduce traffic congestion in Dhaka and provide an alternative gateway to the city's centre.

The expressway will be connected to Simrail area on Dhaka-Chattogram highway, where a multi-layer flyover will be built to keep traffic on the highway uninterrupted, officials said.

On two sides of the expressway, there would be toll-free roads, and four interchanges on Chattogram Road, at Demra Staff Quarter and Meradia, and on Rampura Bridge will be used to enter and exit the expressway and for toll collection, they added.

After the project was approved, PPP authorities appointed consultants to carry out feasibility studies and other work.

In January last year, Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved a Tk 1,209.6 crore project to support the expressway project's implementation, mainly for acquiring land.

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase gave the go ahead to RHD's proposal for appointing the Chinese consortium in November last year.

RHD sources said design for the expressway is almost finalised, and the consortium has already completed negotiating with a Chinese bank to get necessary funds.

AKM Fazlul Karim, coordinator of RHD's PPP cell, said the consortium will finance, build, operate and maintain the road for a concession period of 25 years.

As per the agreement, the government will get the total toll amount, and the consortium will get a certain amount as "availability payment", he told this correspondent yesterday.

Currently, two more elevated expressways are under construction in Dhaka and adjacent areas.