Dhaka-ctg connectivity plans: Going nowhere as govt keeps flip-flopping

Indecision, short-sightedness and piecemeal measures have long been plaguing the government plan to upgrade Dhaka-Chattogram corridor, considered the economic lifeline of the country.

In 2013, the government decided to build an expressway, considering the fast-growing traffic between the two cities.

After spending around Tk 100 crore on preparatory work, the government dropped the plan in 2019 and instead decided to build a rather expensive high-speed rail system. The feasibility study alone cost Tk 110.16 crore.

But the authorities later opted to go slow, considering the large investment required for the construction.

Meanwhile, the question of how the growing traffic will be handled remains unanswered. The government has some plans, but those are piecemeal measures.

The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has taken two projects involving Tk 1,361 crores -- one for building four underpasses and a u-loop and another for maintenance of the highway.

Construction of service lanes or roads running parallel to the highway for slower vehicles is now being planned by the RHD.

On the other hand, Bangladesh Railway (BR) is planning to build a chord line, the shortest possible route, between Dhaka and Cumilla via Narayanganj to reduce the distance between Dhaka and Chattogram by almost 100 km.

BR has just started the process of hiring consultants to study its feasibility. It will take at least two-three years to begin physical work if it's found feasible, officials said.

But experts are critical of the decisions.

"Dropping the expressway was a short-sighted decision … The government should improve Dhaka-Chattogram communication by building an expressway for the sake of economic growth," transport expert Prof Shamsul Hoque told The Daily Star.

As much as 80-90 percent of the country's trade is carried out using the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, which is not possible with railways, he said.

Of the eight major highways, the government should first develop an expressway between the capital and port city, he said, adding that more delays will raise the expenses and make the task more difficult.

Jashim Uddin, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said the average speed of vehicles on major highways is around 30km. Bangladesh's competitiveness in export will rise by six to seven percentage points if the average speed on Dhaka-Chattogram highway reaches 80km, which can best be achieved with an expressway, he added.

The government should also look at the waterways and railways.

PLAGUED BY INDECISIONS

The government in 2004 decided to build a limited-access road. Four years later, the ADB financed a feasibility study and concept designs of a four-lane Dhaka-Chattogram highway and an access-controlled expressway, according to documents of the multilateral lender.

In 2009, the daily average number of vehicles on the highway was between 20,000 and 25,000. Forty percent of them were trucks. It was expected that the number could reach 66,000 in 2030, according to the documents.

In March 2013, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the expressway project under Public-Private Partnership. The government signed a deal with the ADB the following month to carry out a feasibility study and make a detailed design spending Tk 97.87 crore.

Over two years later, the study was placed before Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who gave consent to building the expressway consisting of elevated sections. The estimated construction cost for the 217-kilometre-long expressway was $2.5 billion, sources said.

Meanwhile, in October 2016, the Bangladesh Bridge Authority took an initiative to build an elevated expressway on the same corridor.

Later, the roads transport and bridges minister asked it to drop the initiative.

But, the prime minister in October 2019 ordered cancellation of the expressway project. She ordered construction of service lanes on either side of the four-lane highway, sources said.

In October last year, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs formally scrapped the plan. Abdus Sabur, then chief engineer of the Roads and Highways Division, told this correspondent that the prime minister was in favour of building a high-speed rail system along the highway.

In March 2017, the BR carried out a feasibility study and made a detailed design of a high speed train, spending Tk 110 crores.

She approved a 224.64-km Dhaka-Narayanganj-Cumilla-Feni-Chattogram route which would bring the travel time from the capital to the port city to just 55-73 minutes at a cost of Tk 93,350.93 crore.

But talking to this correspondent in October last year, Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan said the government would "go slow", considering the expenses.

THE LATEST PLANS

The government is mostly taking piecemeal measures to keep the highway in a functioning state.

The RHD in September 2019 took a Tk 793.14 crore maintenance project. The deadline of the project is June 2023, but the RHD has yet to appoint a contractor for it.

Within two years of the formal opening of the four-lane highway in 2017, the road suffered substantial damage, necessitating the maintenance from Cumilla to Chattogram.

The RHD in July 2021 took another project to build three underpasses and a u-loop on different parts of the highway, spending Tk 568.93 crore. The deadline was set in June 2024.

The RHD is about to start a feasibility study to see whether two more lanes can be added to the main road and service lanes can be built on both sides of the highway. Once a consultant is hired, the study will take 18 months to complete, an official said.

But several RHD officials said adding more lanes would not be enough to meet the growing traffic. "The government would have to go for a limited-access expressway. When it eventually does go for that, the project cost would be much higher," a top RHD engineer said.

RHD Chief Engineer AKM Manir Hossain Pathan said upgrading the Dhaka-Chattogram highway depended on policy decisions.

"But, for now, we are working to build a service lane along both sides of the highway as per the directive of the prime minister," he told The Daily Star yesterday.

This correspondent found Planning Minister Abdul Mannan's phone switched off and could neither reach State Minister Shamsul Alam nor Road Transport and Highway Division Secretary Nazrul Islam.