Rampura-Demra Expressway: AIIB approves $75m loan
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a loan of $75 million for the Rampura-Amulia-Demra Expressway project.
According to a statement published on AIIB website yesterday, the multilateral development bank approved the loan on July 20.
The project is developed through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) structure.
The PPP contract was signed between the Roads and Highways Department and China Communications Construction Company Limited and China Road and Bridge Corporation in January last year.
The estimated total cost of the project is $261 million, as per AIIB document.
The scope of the project is to design, build and operate a 12.5km four-lane access-controlled highway, including an 8.15km elevated section and a 4.35km at-grade section, by upgrading an existing two-lane undivided carriageway, the document shows.
The project starts at the Chattogram interchange with access to the National Highway N1, connects to the National Highway N2 at the Demra access point, and ends at Rampura Interchange, it says.
The width of the proposed road will be around 18m in the elevated section and 32m in the at-grade section, it adds.
Once the expressway is open to the public, the current 16.5km route from Hatirjheel to Demra will be reduced to 13km, 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 Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the project in principle in January 2016.
Dhaka is connected to two major cities, Chattogram and Sylhet, by two national highways, Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Sylhet. However, entrance and exit points of the two busiest highways are located at the capital's Jatrabari.
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 a 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 the Simrail area on Dhaka-Chattogram highway, where a multi-layer flyover will be built to keep traffic on the highway uninterrupted.
There will be toll-free highways on two of the expressway's sides, and four interchanges on Chattogram Road, at Demra Staff Quarter, Meradia, and Rampura bridge will be used for toll collection and expressway entry and exit.
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