방글라데시, 226km 고속도로 사업 추진 청신호 VIDEO: Dhaka-Sylhet highway to be made four-lane with $2.0b ADB funding

Dhaka-Sylhet highway to be made four-lane with $2.0b ADB funding

FHM HUMAYAN KABIR | Published:  November 19, 2020 10:08:34 | Updated:  November 23, 2020 

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is likely to provide US$ 2.0 billion worth of loan for widening Dhaka-Sylhet highway into four-lane, aimed at making the road suitable for regional connectivity as well as cross-border and regional trade, officials said on Wednesday.

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방글라데시, ADB, 다카~실렛 연결 고속도로 사업에 20억불 지원 계획   아시아개발은행(ADB)은 수도 다카와 북동부 실렛주(Sylhet)를 연결하는 226km 길이의 4차선 고속도로 건설 사업에 20억불 규모의 차관을 지원할 계획이라고 Financial Express(2020.11.19)가 보도했다. 프로젝트 발주기관인 도로 및 고속도로부(RHD) 관계자는 사업 추진 일정과 관련하여 현재 상세 설계 마무리 단계이며 이를 토대로 국가 경제 집행위원회(ECNEC)에 프로젝트 제안서를 제출할 계획이라고 밝혔다. 상세 설계의 경우 2015년 완성된 실시설계와 비교했을 때 교차로 등 일부 구간 내용이 변경된 것으로 나타났다. 또한 금융 지원과 관련 전체 사업비는 28.8억불이며 이 중 ADB와 20억불 규모의 차관 지원 협의를 마친 상태라고 덧붙였다. 정부는 중국과 G2G 기반으로 프로젝트 차관 지원을 요청한 바 있으나 성사가 되지 않았으며 ADB와 최종 협의한 것으로 알려졌다. 한편, 동 프로젝트는 방글라데시 정부가 지역 간 연계 강화를 위해 추진 중인 주요 프로젝트 중 하나로, 준공시 인도, 중국 및 미얀마간 교역이 활성화 될 것으로 전망된다. 아시아실 최미동 (Tel. 02-3406-1020) icak.or.kr

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The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) is working on preparing a project proposal for the highways based on the latest detailed design of the corridor, they said.

The project would require an estimated investment of nearly $ 2.88 billion, a senior RHD official said. "The ADB has agreed to provide the lion's share of the total cost in four trances during the entire project implementation period," he told the FE.

"We have already discussed with the ADB about confirmation of the loan," said a senior official at the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges (MoRT&B).

After a setback with a Chinese funding proposal, the RHD has finally decided to take support from the Manila-based lender for the development project. Earlier, China had committed financing the project under a government-to-government (G2G) arrangement.

The Dhaka-Sylhet-Tamabil highway is one of the most important routes for the regional connectivity and trade. The transport corridor is now in bad shape due to lack of proper maintenance of the narrow road, which is not suitable for heavy vehicles.

Another senior RHD official said they had almost completed a detailed design of the road bringing some changes in the previous design prepared in 2015. In the latest design, there will be separate lanes for the slow-moving vehicles on both sides of the four-lane road, he added.

Besides, the intersection design is also being changed, and the authorities were planning to use polymer modified bitumen (PMB) for the wearing course of the road, he added.

Meanwhile, the land acquisition work for the Dhaka-Sylhet-Tamabil highway is going on under a separate project, the RHD official said.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the "Land Acquisition and Utility Transfer Project: Support to Improvement of Dhaka (Kanchpur)-Sylhet-Tamabil Highway into Four-lane and Construction of Separate Service Lanes on Both Sides of the Project" of Tk 38.86 billion in October 2018.

The RHD is also working on widening the Sylhet-Tamabil section of the corridor into four-lane one under another project.

The ECNEC in September last approved the project for upgrading the 56-km Sylhet-Tamabil corridor at Tk 35.86 billion.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is providing Tk 29.70 billion as project assistance while the rest of the fund would come from the internal resources.

Dhaka-Sylhet highway google map

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The RHD official said they were preparing the project proposal for the Dhaka-Sylhet corridor for getting approval of the ECNEC. Soon after getting the approval, they would appoint contractor for rebuilding the road, he added.

When asked, a senior official at the Economic Relations Division (ERD) said the negotiations on the $ 2.0 billion loan with the ADB would complete shortly.

Insiders said the project would further facilitate trade with India's seven-sister states, including Assam.

Also, it will establish sub-regional road communication, and cross-border connectivity between China, Myanmar, and Bhutan.

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https://www.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/economy/bangladesh/dhaka-sylhet-highway-to-be-made-four-lane-with-20b-adb-funding-1605758914

Dhaka City Bangladesh Aerial View

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