Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway project: BD requests China to expedite funding

The government has requested China to speed up the financing process for the $2.09 billion Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway project.

In 2017, Bangladesh signed a commercial agreement with China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) for getting a fund of $ 1.3 billion, 65 per cent of the total project cost.

Later in compliance with new rules of the Chinese government, the amount of loan was slashed to $ 1.15 billion.

Under the preferential buyers' credit, a loan application for the project was sent to the Chinese authority on October 25, 2018 but Bangladesh received no response from the Chinese side to the matter till last month.

"As you are aware that the proposed Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway project will connect the northeast part of the country to the capital Dhaka, minimise traffic congestion in and around Dhaka-Ashulia areas, improve road connectivity of the northern part of Dhaka, connect with the Asian Highway network including national highways, it bears high importance for quick implementation," a letter sent by the ministry concerned to the Chinese government recently reads.

Earlier in June, Bridges Division requested the Economic Relations Division to urge the Chinese government to expedite signing of the loan agreement for this project.

Bridges Division had already appointed a 'design review and supervision consultant' for the project in July this year. And CMS had already appointed a consultant for design formulation and design checking.

"The land acquisition proposal for the project was approved by the central land acquisition committee and Tk 3,000 million was sent to the office of the deputy commissioner concerned," Bridges Division said in a letter to the ERD.

It said as the loan agreement was not signed with the government, the contractor could not send the appointed consultant to the project site.

It was also mentioned that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the last meeting in Beijing agreed to expedite the projects for which China pledged fund during the latter's visit to Dhaka in 2016.

The expressway's original plan depicted it to be 42-km long connecting Dhaka Airport with National Martyrs' Memorial in Savar via Abdullahpur, Ashulia, Dhaka EPZ and Chandra.

But the government later decided to reduce the length of Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway to 24km, saying that the original design was no longer necessary. According to the new plan, the expressway will connect Dhaka Airport with Baipile via Ashulia.

Major construction works of the project include acquisition of 40.89 hectares of land, construction of 1.92-km Nabinagar flyover, reconstruction of 14.28-km At-Grade road, construction of 2.72-km bridges and 500 metres of overpass and flyover and construction of five toll plazas.

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