Govt, contractor sign fresh deal on expressway today

The government and its private foreign partner will sign a new contract on the Dhaka Elevated Expressway (DEE) project today (Sunday) removing the long standing barrier to construction of the billion dollar project after finalisation of its route.

The Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) and the Ital-Thai Public Development Ltd will sign the 'revised and restated agreement' at a simple ceremony at the Setu Bhaban in the city. The executive director of the BBA and the president of the Ital-Thai are likely to sign the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.

Communications Minister Obaidul Quader will witness signing of the ceremony.

The BBA earlier on January 19, 2011 signed a concessionary agreement involving $ 1.2 billion (Tk 87 billion) with the Ital-Thai for constructing the 26-kilometre long elevated expressway.

Under the public-private-partnership (PPP) arrangement, the expressway was initially planned to be constructed from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to the Kutubkhali point of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway having six ramps connecting different city roads with it.

The new accord has been necessitated as the entire design of the expressway and the cost of the PPP project have been revised for reasons like cutting two major ramps and changing the route. The changes have pushed up the project cost to Tk 89 billion.

Under the new arrangement, two ramps will be constructed at Bijoy Sarani and Farmgate, instead of one ramp in front of the Farmgate Khamarbari as planned earlier.

The height of the DEE was also raised at some points to avert its running into other projects including the flyovers at Jatrabari and Banani.

Upon getting the revised proposal from the Ital-Thai, the BBA got it approved by the cabinet committee on economic affairs and vetted by the law ministry before signing the fresh agreement.