Home
+
Published : 16 Jan 2024, 03:10 AM
The government is preparing to open the first elevated expressway in Chattogram to traffic in March. However, it will take an additional year and a half to fully reap its benefits due to the delay in the construction of the 15 ramps between the two ends of this 16-kilometer-long structure.
In November, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Tk 43 billion expressway, the second of its kind in Bangladesh after the one in Dhaka, stretching from Lalkhan Bazar to Shah Amanat International Airport. Initially, the airport to Tiger Pass section was briefly opened to traffic, but it was temporarily closed to complete other essential work.
Mahfuzur Rahman, executive engineer of Chattogram Development Authority and director of the project, confirmed that some work on the Tiger Pass to Lalkhan Bazar section, as well as the installation of toll boxes and other structures necessary for toll collection, are yet to be completed. These tasks are expected to be finalised before the official opening.
The project authorities plan to submit a toll rate proposal to the government for approval, and toll collection will commence accordingly if the proposal is granted, Mahfuzur Rahman added.
Originally approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council in 2017 with an estimated cost of Tk 32.5 billion and a completion period of three years, the project faced delays in its construction timeline.
Prime Minister Hasina inaugurated the construction in February 2019 after the work began in the middle of 2018.
In 2022, the project's duration was extended until June 2024, with an additional Tk 10.48 billion allocated to the project cost.
Named after the late mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, the expressway is designed to connect the airport, Patenga, Chattogram port, EPZ, and Agrabad areas to the centre of the city.
However, without the ramps, residents in most of these areas will have to wait to access it.
Mahfuzur Rahman expressed the project team's intention to complete the construction of all the ramps by June 2025.
He stated, "We will request an extension of the project by one year from the ministry. Until that period, we will maintain the expressway because the project cannot be handed over until all the work is completed."
To facilitate the ramp construction, they have informed Chattogram City Corporation of their plan to start construction, allowing the city corporation to relocate utility lines from the construction sites.
Fifteen ramps are planned for the expressway, with the majority (four) located in Agrabad.
Among these, one will be on the Ethnological Museum road, one on World Trade Centre road, and two on the Agrabad Access road. Tigerpass, Nimtala, CEPZ, and the KEPZ areas will each have two ramps, while Hotel Peninsula, Fakirhat, and Siemens crossing area in the GEC intersection will each have one.
Rafiqul Islam Manik, chief engineer of the city corporation, mentioned that not much work is left to relocate utility lines since the main structure has been built.
Therefore, they have requested project authorities to repair the roads beneath the expressway, install lane markings, and zebra crossings.
Additionally, a four-way footbridge at Lalkhan Bazar intersection has been requested and received consent from the project authorities.
Delwar Majumder, a former president of the Chattogram chapter of the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, criticised the project authorities for the delay in ramp construction.
He said: "How can we call it an opening if transportation cannot utilise it? The project team should have finalised the completion timeline during the plan revision."
