Bangladesh to get 12 more expressways, 10 elevated expressways by 2041
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Briefs parliament on construction progress of various projects
The government plans to construct 12 more expressways and 10 elevated expressways by 2041 to develop the communication sector of Bangladesh, Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali has said.
Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali presented the proposed budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year amounting to Tk797,000 crore (Tk7.97 trillion) in parliament on Thursday.
This was his first budget unveiling and the first budget after the reelection of the Awami League government in January.
The government was continuously working to develop a modern and sustainable highway network by adopting an integrated action plan in line with the vision to make Bangladesh a developed nation as outlined in the Perspective Plan (2021-2041), the minister said.
“At the same time, planning and implementation of modernization of motor vehicle management including the introduction of high-speed public transport system (MRT and BRT) to reduce traffic congestion in Dhaka metropolis is underway,”
A strong network comprising six mass rapid transit or metro was being built under Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited to reduce traffic congestion and improve the environment in Dhaka city and adjacent areas, Mahmood Ali said.
The MRT Line 6 had already been launched up to Motijheel, “which has been hugely appreciated by men and women alike as a fast, pollution-free, time-saving, state-of-the-art urban transport,” he added.
“The rest of the MRT Line 6 will be completed by June 2025. Besides, the construction work of the MRT Line 1 and MRT Line 5: Northern Route is progressing rapidly,” the finance minister told parliament.
About the Dhaka East West Elevated Expressway, he said it would span 39.23km, from Baliapur on the Dhaka-Aricha highway via Nimtoli Keraniganj-Fatullah-Bandar to Langalbanda on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.
The finance minister further said the construction of the 24km Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Savar EPZ via Ashulia was progressing rapidly, adding that work on the Dhaka-Joydebpur-Devgram-Bhulta-Madanpur access-controlled highway was progressing rapidly under a PPP arrangement.