Construction of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway is going to be completed by the set time. Officials concerned told the Bangladesh Post that the construction of the expressway is getting momentum and is sure to be completed by the specified time, after complexities regarding allocation of fund of the public private partnership (PPP) project had been resolved.
They said so, the construction of the 46.73km elevated expressway will be completed by 2022. The elevated expressway is being constructed along with ramps from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Kutubkhali point of Dhaka-Chattogram highway via Kuril, Banani, Mohakhali, Tejgaon, Hotel Sonargaon, Palashi, Moghbazar and Kamalapur, officials said, adding the bridge authority signed a deal with Italian-Thai Development Public Company in January 2011 in this regard.
Sources related to the project said, work is divided into three segments—7.45 kilometres from Airport to Banani, will be constructed in the first part, 5.85 kilometres from Banani to Moghbazar in the second part, and 6.43 kilometres from Moghbazar to Kutubkhali in the final part. Main project cost has been estimated at Tk 8940 crore. Of the amount, Italian-Thai Development Public Company Ltd invested Tk 6,444.31 crore and the rest Tk 2413.80 crore will be spent by the government from its own fund as Viability Gap Fund (VGF).
About financing the project Road, Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said that, the uncertainty in elevated way financing is over, the project construction will be completed by December 2022. The government was able to hand over the entire land of this segment only in 2017 due to complications in land acquisition, resettlement and relocation of utility network. To this regard, the minister also expressing his satisfaction said, this is a major problem to allocate land but now that complexity is over.
The 47km length includes the length of the mainline (20km) and 27km of the 31 ramps in the original design. The first segment is nearly 7.5km long which is supposed to complete in November this year, the second one is 6km which is scheduled to complete by December 2020 and the 6.5km long third segment will be completed by December 2022, said concerned officials.
Construction of 133 working pile driving, 300 pile cap, 79 cross beam, 187 column full and 119 partially completed, 186 eye girder have so far been completed till now. Besides 14 spans has already been installed on eye girder.
