ADB may fund rail route to Cox\'s Bazar seaside tourist spot

The Asian Development Bank is likely to finance the construction of Chittagong-Cox's Bazar railway for establishing direct rail link with the tourist haven on the world's longest beach and beyond.
A fact-finding mission of the ADB is due to arrive on January 31 for talks with the Bangladesh Railway authorities and visit to the two districts to take a spot view of the prospects for funding the rail project, officials said.
The mission will stay until February 10 for a comprehensive spadework as the Asian multilateral donor has hinted at providing up to US$ 1.0 billion for the rail line that will also be part of Trans- Asian Railway (TAR).
The BR has conducted feasibility study to build the 128-kilometre Dohazari-Gumdum rail line through Cox's Bazar under a foreign joint-venture firm.
BR officials said the study was done with the target of setting up the rail link up to Myanmar border as part of the TAR. But, for now, the BR authorities would like to construct 100-km rails up to Cox's Bazar in view of its importance at this moment.
In the second phase, another stretch of 28-km tracks will be built up to the Myanmar border for trans-border communications.
However, sources said the BR dropped the idea of constructing entire 128-km rail tracks as Myanmar has no rail track on their side to run on along the TAR line.
According to the feasibility study being conducted by the joint venture of Canorail, SMEC and ACE, around US$ 1.3 billion will be needed to construct the dual-gauge 128-km Dohazari-Gumdhum rail tracks.
As the BR has no land in this part of the country, around 1706 acres of land need to be acquired to establish the rail line.
BR officials said the ADB has hinted at funding 100 kms of the studied route but given importance to the resettlement action plan and environmental-impact assessment.
"These two studies are also being conducted," said one official.
However, final assurance of the financier about the funds is likely to come during the appraisal mission's visit.
It is learnt that the first survey for the railway line was conducted during the British era but its establishment could not be done due to two World Wars.
The pre-feasibility study on the rail line was conducted in 2001 with the target of building the rail route up to Myanmar with whom the country has a 300-km border.
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