Kalurghat Bridge still remains in doldrums

CHATTOGRAM, May 18: The newly construction of the dilapidated Kalurghat Bridge in the port city is still a far cry as the development project proposal (DPP) is facing a long delay in getting the final approval from the government authorities concerned.
According to the DPP, the construction of the two-tier road-cum-rail bridge was scheduled to begin this year and end in 2028.
The Bangladesh Railway (BR) will construct the 239-metre bridge over the Karnaphuli River at Kalurghat point at a cost of Tk 12,000 crore. The bridge will be a four-lane one with a single deck.
Sources said the Yooshin Engineering Corporation, a Korean consultant firm, has completed the DPP and submitted a feasibility study report to the BR. It also completed the feasibility study in 2022 after starting the task in December 2021.
After the DPP approval, the Bangladesh government will sign an agreement with the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), a Korean financer, to build the bridge.
The EDCF will provide Tk 8,000 crore for construction of the bridge while the Bangladesh government will provide Tk 4,000 crore, the sources added.
"The EDCF has agreed to fully fund the project as a soft loan to Bangladesh," said Engineer Golam Mostafa, director of the project.
Kalurghat Bridge built in 1930 has now been turned dilapidated and unfit for movement of vehicles. It will be constructed again to facilitate the communications with Myanmar through the Chattogram-Ghundum railway line.
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