Construction of two new bridges on Dhaka-Ctg 4-lane road yet to start
Thursday, 14 April 2011
Munima Sultana
The government is yet to make any progress in constructing two new 2-lane bridges on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway with a view to making those commensurate with the ongoing road widening work that will also transform the busy highway into a four-lane one. Officials have said the government has already taken a project to construct two separate two-lane bridges beside the existing Meghna and Daudkandi bridges. These are not included in the ongoing four-lane project. They said in the main Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane project, 21 small bridges and 195 culverts were included and work on those structures is already underway simultaneously with the road widening scheme. Both the existing Meghna bridge and Daudkandi bridge were constructed with two-lane road facilities in 1991 and 1994, considering the importance of the country's main economic corridor which has connected the busy Chittgaong port with capital Dhaka. Although the Roads and Highway Department (RHD) took the initiative to widen the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway with four lanes in 2002, the project's construction started at the end of 2010 at a cost of Tk 24.04 billion. But the construction work of the two new bridges has not started simultaneously. Officials said the project would take at least two years to complete after start of the construction. Officials said although China has shown interest to provide loan for the second Meghna bridge, no commitment has been made for the Daudkandi bridge which is also known as Meghna-Gumti bridge. An official at RHD Bridge wing, however, said they have by this time completed feasibility studies for both the bridges. He said a delegation from China Exim Bank recently met the Communications Minister and agreed in principle to provide fund for the Megnha-Gumti bridge. Another source said Japan, which funded the first Meghna bridge, has also shown interest to provide loan for the second Meghna bridge. Experts said making Dhaka-Chittagong Highway a six-lane one now appears to be vital for the country's economic expansion as the country's top industrial plants have been set up along the key corridor. An old study shows some 18,000 motor vehicles ply the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway every day with an average 10 per cent increase rate. The traffic tailback on the main economic corridor sometimes extends to more than 20 km keeping passengers and goods carrying transports stranded for almost half of a day.
The government is yet to make any progress in constructing two new 2-lane bridges on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway with a view to making those commensurate with the ongoing road widening work that will also transform the busy highway into a four-lane one. Officials have said the government has already taken a project to construct two separate two-lane bridges beside the existing Meghna and Daudkandi bridges. These are not included in the ongoing four-lane project. They said in the main Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane project, 21 small bridges and 195 culverts were included and work on those structures is already underway simultaneously with the road widening scheme. Both the existing Meghna bridge and Daudkandi bridge were constructed with two-lane road facilities in 1991 and 1994, considering the importance of the country's main economic corridor which has connected the busy Chittgaong port with capital Dhaka. Although the Roads and Highway Department (RHD) took the initiative to widen the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway with four lanes in 2002, the project's construction started at the end of 2010 at a cost of Tk 24.04 billion. But the construction work of the two new bridges has not started simultaneously. Officials said the project would take at least two years to complete after start of the construction. Officials said although China has shown interest to provide loan for the second Meghna bridge, no commitment has been made for the Daudkandi bridge which is also known as Meghna-Gumti bridge. An official at RHD Bridge wing, however, said they have by this time completed feasibility studies for both the bridges. He said a delegation from China Exim Bank recently met the Communications Minister and agreed in principle to provide fund for the Megnha-Gumti bridge. Another source said Japan, which funded the first Meghna bridge, has also shown interest to provide loan for the second Meghna bridge. Experts said making Dhaka-Chittagong Highway a six-lane one now appears to be vital for the country's economic expansion as the country's top industrial plants have been set up along the key corridor. An old study shows some 18,000 motor vehicles ply the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway every day with an average 10 per cent increase rate. The traffic tailback on the main economic corridor sometimes extends to more than 20 km keeping passengers and goods carrying transports stranded for almost half of a day.