After six years of efforts, the Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway (DAEE) project is likely to get approval as a government-to-government scheme from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) tomorrow (Tuesday).
Sources said against a US$ 1.36-billion commercial proposal made by a Chinese company for constructing the elevated expressway, the project is set to be placed before the next ECNEC meeting, scheduled to take place on Tuesday, for approval.
The project has been placed before the ECNEC after getting approval of the cabinet committee on government purchase for constructing the expressway with the proposal of China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation known as CMC, they added.
"We hope there will be no problem this time as all necessary procedures have already been completed," said an official concerned preferring not to be named.
Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) has taken up the DAEE project after the Prime Minister announced plan to construct the second elevated expressway on Dhaka-Ashulia corridor. Earlier, a deal was signed in January 2011 to build Dhaka Elevated Expressway, first of its kind in the country, under public-private partnership arrangement.
But the project faced difficulties in getting reliable firms to complete it under PPP even after inviting tenders twice.
Sources said though the first tender was called with keeping an option to carry out the feasibility study by the company which would win the PPP project, response from construction firms was not satisfactory.
However, BBA again could not get due response from reputed companies by reopening the tender even after conducting a pre-feasibility study by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).
The pre-feasibility study proposed setting up of a 35-kilometre DAEE from Nabinagar intersection-EPZ to Chandra intersection through Abdullahpur-Ashulia-Baipail with 6.64km ramps. The cost was estimated at $ 1.67 billion.
After shifting its stand from PPP to g-2-g arrangement with the CMC's commercial proposal of $ 1.75 billion to construct the DAEE, BBA assigned an international firm to conduct the feasibility study.
The study done last year recommended constructing up to 24km elevated expressway from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Ashulia, 10.84km ramp, 1.9km flyover at Nabinagar intersection, upgradation of existing 14.28km four-lane Ashulia road, 2km bridge and 18km drainage and duct construction. The cost was estimated at Tk 169.02 billion.
BBA officials said the problem centring the DAEE project is now over after the latest feasibility study was conducted and the Chinese company came up with an acceptable commercial proposal for cutting down the cost to $ 1.35 billion.
They said following due development, the ECNEC has placed the DAEE project as its first agenda for approval.
BBA has been implementing the DEE project which still hangs in balance for not to get funds from the PPP concessionaire. It has also recently taken up another elevated expressway project on east-west corridor following a feasibility study.
smunima@yahoo.com
