Twelve years have passed but the Dhaka Elevated Expressway still is under construction while it was scheduled to be completed between July 2011 and December 2014.
During this long period, project expenditure has increased by about Tk 6,000 crore in three phases.
In the beginning, the estimated expenditure was about Tk 3,216 crore which is now Tk 8,940 crore.
According to the authorities concerned, the Dhaka Elevated Expressway project is one of the biggest plans to reduce the capital’s traffic gridlock.
The total length of the expressway from Dhaka-Kutubkhali is 19.73 km. Once the project is implemented, it will take only 20 minutes to travel from the airport to Chittagong Road.
Bridges Division has decided to open the airport to Banani part of the expressway which is about 7 kilometres. It’s also the first part of the project. As of Sunday, the work progress of the part is 89 per cent.
A H M S Akter, project director of Dhaka Elevated Expressway, said to Bangladesh Pratidin, “At present, we are speedily advancing the work of the Banani section from the airport. The overall work progress of the entire project is 51 per cent. At present construction work is going on from the airport to Tejgaon. The main work of the remaining part will start after December.”
According to Bridges Division, out of the three parts of the expressway, the first part from the airport to Banani railway station has a total length of 7.45 kilometres. The second part is 5.85 kilometres from Banani railway station to Moghbazar. The work progress of this part is 26 per cent. The third part is 6.63 kilometres long through Moghbazar-Jatrabari to Kutubkhali. The work progress of this part is 10 per cent.
The construction of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway was supposed to be completed in December 2014.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of the project on April 30, 2011.
Later in 2013, the route of the expressway was revised. Amendments were also made to the design. It also increased the cost of the project. As a result, the work started after 2014.
Contacted, Bridges Division Secretary Manjur Hossain said the first part of the elevated expressway from airport-Banani is scheduled to be opened by next December. Work is progressing accordingly.
“It will take till June next year to complete the entire project,” he added.
@ This report appeared on the print and online version of Bangladesh Pratidin on Monday (August 29) and has been rewritten in English by Tanvir Raihan and Golam Rosul
