CHATTOGRAM, Aug 30: A portion of Elevated Expressway Chattogram will be opened to traffic by this November with intent to ease vehicular movement through Bangabandhu Tunnel, another mega project.
Work on the first elevated expressway of the port city will be completed in 2024.
Sources said the 7.0-km expressway from Lalkhanbazar to Patenga has neared completion, with the carpeting of the road already done.
The partial inauguration of the raised road corridor is set to take place in the first week of November.
The expressway from Lalkhanbazar to Shah Amanat International Airport will be named after the former city mayor and freedom fighter ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury.
The Chattogram Development Authority (CDA), the implementer of the project, at a board meeting on August 24 decided to name it after him.
CDA chairman M Zahirul Alam Dubash said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would open the main flyover.
"We've changed the design ensuring the security of Chattogram port. We'll partially open the expressway in November to decrease traffic congestion in the city."
The project was launched in February 2019 and almost 80-per cent work has been done to date, said Mr Dubash.
Project director Md Mahfuzur Rahman said, "The project team is working relentlessly to swiftly complete the remaining work."
"The elevated expressway will have 14 ramps at various points of the city. These ramps will facilitate smooth access to and from the flyover for commuters."
Presently, the primary focus is on the successful launch of the main flyover.
"Once the main flyover becomes fully operational, attention will be given to the construction of the ramps," Mr Rahman told the FE.
Sources said the project was scheduled for completion in 2022, but the implementer sought to extend time up to 2024 and increase cost by Tk 12 billion.
The authority has already extended time and increased the project cost. So, the project is likely to be fully completed in 2024.
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