Elevated expressway along 10-km Panchabati-Muktarpur being executed

A 10-km elevated expressway is being constructed from Panchabati of Narayanganj to Muktarpur of Munshiganj to ease traffic and divert some vehicles who want to by-pass Dhaka while travelling to the South West region of the country, officials said.

The project worth about Tk 1,347 is being jointly executed by Chinese companies SDLQ and CSI, Bangladesh Bridge Authority officials said.

The bridge authority has undertaken the project proposal of which will be presented on Thursday before the Cabinet Committee on Public Procurement virtual meeting under the chairmanship of Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal for approval.

Sources said that if the project is implemented, the transportation of goods and public transport on the road will be easier and travelers’ daily suffering will be alleviated.

According to the proposal, the road from Panchabati to Muktarpur Bridge has been built on the Dhaleswari River and has been used as a connecting bridge between Dhaka, Narayanganj with the country's SE region. This is the 6th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge under the authority of Bangladesh Bridge Authority and was built in 2008.

The road is very narrow (average width 5.5 m), winding and encroached with business establishments, houses and shops on both sides of the road.

There are some 5 cement factories at Muktarpur in Munshiganj and several cold storages for preserving potatoes. Because of the choking, heavy vehicles ranging from 24 tonnes to about 50 tonnes regularly plying on the road face difficulties while smaller vehicles fall into accidents.

The project area has a BSCIC industrial zone and export oriented garment factory, therefore, more than one lakh workers use the road every day. In view of this situation, the Bangladesh Bridge Authority has undertaken the project titled 'Road widening and construction of two-storey road from Panchabati to Muktarpur Bridge' which was approved at the ECNEC meeting on 8 December 2020.

The proposal said, the cost of the project is Tk 2,242.77 crore. The project will be implemented with the own funding of GoB and Bangladesh Bridge Authority from January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2025.

According to the proposal, widening of 10.75 km of roads, construction of 9.06 km of two-lane roads (with 2.705 km of ramps), widening of 151 m of bridges, 248 cubic meters of box culverts, toll plazas, toll monitoring buildings, 9.

According to the proposal, when open tenders were called, 13 companies submitted tenders within the stipulated time. Among them, Chinese joint venture company SDLQ and CSI were considered as the lowest bidder with Tk 1,206.06 crore. Of this, 73.51 per cent bills have to be paid in Bangladeshi currency and 26.49 per cent in foreign currency.