Bakalia Access Road construction work begins

Our Correspondent
CHITTAGONG, Nov 11: The construction work of the Bakalia Access Road under the supervision of the Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) kicked off today.
CDA chairman Abdus Salam laid the foundation of the civil work of the road that is expected to ease traffic congestion in the southeast entrance to the port city from south Chittagong, Bandarban and Cox's Bazar districts.
The road will connect Sirajuddowla Road with the Shah Amanat 3rd Karnaphuli Bridge through Bakalia.
The construction work was inaugurated at a ceremony organised at the compound of the Bakalia Police Station on the Chittagong-Cox's Bazar Highway in the afternoon.
The 1.5 kilometre long and 60 feet wide Bakalia Access Road will be constructed at a cost of Tk2.0546 billions (Tk 205 crore 46 lakh) and the construction is targeted to be completed by June 2019, the chairman of the CDA, implementing agency of the project, said.
CDA planners said the Agrabad Access Road eased pressure of traffic in the city's western region including Halishahar area and the Bakalia Access Road will ease traffic gridlock of the southeast region.
Once the road is constructed, people not only of the less developed areas of Bakalia but also those from seven upazilas of Chittagong and from Cox's Bazar and Bandarban hill district will enter the city avoiding huge traffic congestion in Bahaddarhat area.
This road, as planned in the 1995 CDA Master Plan, will ensure quick communication of the people coming from villages to the city and will also help people save important time and money, CDA chairman Abdus Salam said.
He said that the CDA Master Plan of 1995 had in its layout included the Bakalia Access Road to ensure speedy transportation of the people of the less developed Bakalia area so that the people crossing the Karnaphuli River bridge can enter the port city hassle-free.
Attaching high importance on that design the CDA prepared the detailed project proposal (DPP) for construction of the road in 2009 but the project proposal did not proceed further at that time.
The CDA advanced with the proposal again early this year and got the DPP approved in the Pre-ECNEC on June 3 this year. Later the ECNEC (executive committee of the national economic council) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina approved the project.
The road will start from the Chandanpura Fire Service Station on the Sirajuddowla Road towards the east and end at the Karnaphuli Shah Amanat Bridge connecting road via DC Road, Shantinagar, Bogerbil, Syed Shah Road and Bakalia police station.
There will be a junction at Shantinagar and from that junction a road will go northwards and another road southwards for diversion of the transports, he said.
CDA board members Jashim Uddin Shah and KBM Shahjahan, chief engineer Hassan bin Shams, local ward councilor of the Chittagong City Corporation and hundreds of local people were present on the occasion.
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