Construction of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway, planned to reduce traffic congestion in capital Dhaka is running at a snail’s pace and only 28 per cent of the project has been completed in ten years, official papers show. The project, which was flagged off on April 30, 2011 with a budget of Tk 8,703 crore, was scheduled to be completed in three and a half years. According to a news report published in a national daily on Tuesday, maximum importance was given to the elevated expressway project along with the metro rail project as they were expected to play a significant role in reducing gridlocks in the capital.
It sounds like a dream that travelling from Motijheel to Uttara will take only 20 minutes in the peak rush hour. But, that would have been a reality by now had the Dhaka Elevated Expressway, the country’s maiden public-private partnership (PPP) project, maintained its time frame. With a total length of 46.73km, including 19.73km mainline, the expressway aimed to relieve the escalating pressure on the streets below. It was also expected to improve north-south connectivity, linking important commercial and business centres. The 20-km expressway starts from the Airport and is designed to come via Banani-Tejgaon-Mogbazar-Kamalapur-Saidabad to Kutub Khali on Dhaka-Chattogram Highway.
According to official data, the construction of the expressway is being implemented in three parts. The first part from the airport to Banani is seven kilometres, the second part from Banani to Moghbazar railway crossing about six kilometres and the third part from the Moghbazar to Kutub Khali is about six and a half kilometres. The progress of work from the airport to Banani is 65 per cent, and from Banani to Moghbazar 9 per cent. Work on the remaining portion is yet to begin. Project sources said there is a plan to inaugurate the expressway from the airport to Tejgaon by June 2022. Experts however think there might be greater traffic congestion if the elevated expressway is lowered at the centre of the capital. Sources at the project implementation committee said the entire elevated expressway would be completed by June 2023.
We want to say, long delays in the implementation of the elevated expressway would definitely overrun its ultimate construction costs. And mega expenditure on mega projects like this one needs to be handled with care.
