Dhaka-Ashulia expressway to be public sector project

The government is now exploring the viable sources of soft loans to build the Dhaka-Ashulia elevated expressway as a public sector project, officials said Wednesday.
It has, thus, abandoned the idea of implementing the expressway under the public-private partnership (PPP) initiative.
Bridge Division officials said they are now looking for concessional loans from some development partners for constructing the US$1.75 billion 38-kilometre expressway from Dhaka to Ashulia.
The Bridge Division has already sent a preliminary project proposal (PPP) to the Planning Commission (PC) to get its endorsement and proceed.
"Besides, we have also requested the economic relations division (ERD) for mobilising the necessary $1.4 billion soft loans from any lender to build the expressway."
In order to reducing the acute traffic congestion in and around Dhaka-Ashulia area, the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) intends to execute the project that would encompass the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Abdullahpur, Ashulia, Dhaka EPZ and Chandra.
"Since 2011, we were trying to find out a private company to build the important expressway under the PPP arrangement. But we did not get any response in the last four years. So we have changed our decision," said a senior Bridge Division official.
Meanwhile, on January 22, the BBA signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese company China National Machinery IMP & EXP Corp (CMC) to construct the elevated expressway.
"But it is now at an initial stage of the project. We need external financial support for the expressway project first. Then we can proceed for physical works," said the official.
The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and the BBA have already conducted a feasibility study for the expressway project.
The study had made projections that 11,543 vehicles would play the expressway in 2016. The number of vehicles will rise to 55,803 in 2020 and 120,978 in 2030, it said.
Earlier, the government had taken another 26km elevated expressway project from the Shahjalal International Airport to the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway near Shanir Akhra through PPP arrangement.
The Ital-Thai, an Italian-Thailand joint venture company, is working to build the expressway.
Bridge Division officials said the Dhaka-Ashulia expressway will facilitate movement of transit vehicles between Bangladesh and Nepal, Bhutan and India, and smooth movement of goods-laden vehicles from Chittagong port to Dhaka EPZ and adjoining areas.
It will help ease traffic congestion and allow trucks to move across the capital throughout the day.
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