This is a rare project when the land acquisition cost is higher than civil (construction) costs. The government is going to expand the Chattogram Port Access Road up to six lanes to improve connectivity between the country’s largest seaport, the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway and the yet-to-open Bangabandhu Tunnel.
Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has already submitted a project proposal to turn the 11.5km two-lane road into a four-to-six-lane highway. The amount needed for the project is Tk 3,300 crore. There will be service lanes on both sides, according to the plan.
This implies that the authorities have to spend Tk 286.95 crore for expanding per km of the road, which is more than the per km cost of the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga Expressway. This is mainly due to the high land prices in the area, said officials concerned.
The 55km road, the first expressway in the country, was built at a cost of Tk 11,003 crore (around 200 crore per km), making it the most expensive road in terms of length.
Asian Development Bank is expected to provide a loan for the project — formally known as SASEC Chattogram Port Access Road Improvement Project. The project proposal is now pending with the Planning Commission for the pre-approval process.
“We expect to start physical works on the road in the last quarter of next year. The deadline for the project is June 2028,” Mohammad Sabbir Hasan Khan, the focal point of the project, told The Daily Star yesterday.
Constructed in 2007, the existing access road is one of few roads in the country where users have to pay a toll for usage. Until the construction of the road, all vehicles from and to the port had to use the road which goes through port city.
More than 90 percent of Bangladesh’s $130 billion foreign trade goes through the Chattogram Port. The Dhaka-Chattogram Highway is considered the economic lifeline of the country.
However, the two-lane port access road is failing to handle the huge onrush of vehicles, said Sabbir Hasan. “So we decided to expand the highway,” he added.
Moreover, the vehicles to and from the Bangabandhu Tunnel will also use the 7.5km portion of the road. The underwater tunnel in Karnaphuli River is expected to open in September this year.
The project will contribute to strengthening domestic and international trade, enhance transport facilities and provide easier access in and out of the Chattogram Port, reads an ADB document on the project.
Asked about the hefty construction cost, Sabbir said the road is not a usual one.
They plan to expand the 7.5km road from the city end to six lanes, with a 7.3-metre service land on one side. Meanwhile, the expansion of the 5km road from the port end to four lanes will see another 7.3-metre service lanes on both sides, he said.
No highway in the country has a service lane with a width of more than 5.5m. “The width is a reason for the hefty cost. But the main reason is the land acquisition cost. This is a rare project when the land acquisition cost is higher than civil (construction) costs,” said Sabbir.
According to RHD sources, around Tk 1,504 crore has to be spend for acquiring 52 acres of land there.
“We expect the project to be approved by September this year and a loan contract will be signed with ADB afterwards. We hope to start civil works in the last quarter of the next year after completing the tendering process,” said Sabbir.
Out of the total project cost of Tk 3,300.87cr, ADB is supposed to provide Tk 1,268.96cr. The government will bear the rest of the cost.
