Southern transport corridor links seashore with Asian Highway

Search for foreign funding worth US$3.04 billion begins for another megaproject styled Southern Corridor designed to link Bangladesh's southern-most seashore with the UN-sponsored Asian Highway, officials said.
Government's Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has taken up the massive programme to develop the southern transport corridor from Faridpur to Kuakata, as the Padma Multipurpose Bridge facilitating road and rail communications has opened up vistas of economic prospects-like seaborne trade, fisheries, tourism, and gas and power production to feed industries.
The state-run road-infrastructure developer has planned to widen a 236km southern corridor on along Faridpur-Barishal-Patuakhali-Kuakata roadway with support of foreign development partners by the year 2030.
"We want to develop the country's southern economic corridor as its development is imperative after the opening of the Padma Bridge. We will require huge investments. So, we have sought the money from foreign donors," a senior RHD official told the FE on Friday.
"The Dhaka-Mawa-Padma Bridge-Bhanga-Faridpur-Barisal-Patuakhali-Kuakata route is the lifeline of the southern economy. It is high time the route was developed," he added.
The proposed 'Southern Corridor' will connect the Pyra seaport with the Asian Highway system-1, and with the SAARC Road Corridor (SRC-4).
Meanwhile, the RHD authority has sought approval for a preliminary development-project proposal (PDPP) from the Planning Commission and requested mobilising foreign funds through the Economic Relations Division (ERD).
"We need Tk 331.35 billion ($3.04 billion) for widening the proposed 236km corridor to a four-lane highway with service lanes on both the sides," said another RHD official.
Currently, the Faridpur-Barishal-Kuakata highway is a two-lane one whereon traffic movement swelled after the opening of Padma Bridge to traffic, so did tourist flows to Kuakata tourist resort on the Bay of Bengal.
According to the RHD proposal, it will widen the 236 kilometres of highway and construct 63 bridges (8990.13m), five foot-over-bridges (191m), 202 culverts, 44 overpasses or flyovers, eight ROBs and 10 interchanges.
The RHD official says they are expecting necessary financial support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for widening the corridor of transport and economic opportunities.
Meanwhile, the department conducted a detailed design under the financial and technical support of the Asian Development Bank in 2015.
A Planning Commission official said, "We are scrutinising the project which will be sent to the ERD for searching foreign funds after our endorsement."
Meanwhile, the RHD is working to acquire land for the proposed the highway-widening works.
In October 2018, it took up a project to acquire land and move utility lines for turning the Faridpur-Barishal-Patuakhali-Kuakata highway into a dual carriageway.
Under the Tk 18.68-billion project the department will acquire 302.70 acres of land and shift the roadside utility lines. The project, supposed to be completed by June 2020, has now been extended.
The land-acquisition project's deadline had already been extended twice--first until June 2022 and then until June 2023.
Also, the RHD is working to widen another economic corridor --Bhanga-Jashore-Benapole highways--which is a part of the Asian Highways-1.
The Asian Highway Network (AH), also known as the Great Asian Highway, is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to improve their connectivity via highway systems.

[email protected]