18km of Dhaka Bypass Expressway opens to public

Eighteen kilometres of the 48km Dhaka Bypass Expressway were opened to traffic yesterday.

Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, adviser to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges and Railways, inaugurated the part stretching from the Bogura bypass areas.

CNG vehicles, auto-rickshaws, and motorcycles are now completely banned on the expressway. U-turns will also not be allowed in this section, and tolls have been set according to vehicle type.

Adviser Fouzul Kabir said, "Compared to the countries around us, our country's road construction cost is much higher. You know that roads have become a ripe ground for corruption. Our engineers can reduce the cost of road construction by 20 to 30 percent if we can diminish this corruption."

"For how long will foreigners come here to build bridges and railways? For this, we have to seek ways to engage our engineers. We must gradually free ourselves from foreign dependence," he added.  The Dhaka Bypass Four-Lane Upgradation Project is being implemented by Dhaka Bypass Expressway Development Company Limited, a joint venture of Sichuan Road and Bridge Group (SRBG), Shamim Enterprise Limited (SEL), and UDC Construction Limited. The PPP agreement was signed on December 6, 2018, and came into effect on May 15, 2022. The 25-year agreement will remain valid until May 14, 2047. Construction of the project is expected to be completed by June 2026.