CROSS BORDER ROAD IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
Japan to fund Tk 1,900 crore
The government will build the Kalna bridge over the Madhumati river under the Cross Border Road Improvement Project partly with Japanese funding, road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader said yesterday. Apart from the Kalna bridge, the Tk 2,500 crore project includes 17 bridges on different roads, a toll plaza and two axle-load weigh stations. Japan will provide Tk 1,900 crore of the total project cost, the minister told reporters after a signing ceremony on the appointment of consultants at Setu Bhaban in Dhaka. Chief engineer of the Roads and Highways Department Ibn Alam Hasan, team leader of the leading partner Oriental Consultants Ltd, Atsushi Nishimura, and its general manager Ryohei Ishii signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations. In all, 17 bridges will be built on different roads. Of those, five will be come up on the Benapole-Madaripur highway, eight on the Baroiarhat-Ramgarh road and four bridges on the Coxs Bazar-Chittagong highway. Japan will fund Tk 1,900 crore of these projects, Quader said. The minister also said it is essential to build Kalna bridge to fully utilise the Padma bridge so that the Asian Highway can be connected. A total of Tk. 672 crore would be needed to build the four-lane Kalna bridge, including a four-km-long link road. We want to start construction of the bridge by March after completion of the design on a priority basis, he added. The consultants will prepare designs and monitor the construction of 17 bridges, seven culverts, a toll plaza and two axle-load weigh stations at a cost of Tk. 236 crore under the cross-border road improvement project. According to the agreement, Smack International Pty. Ltd, Japan Bridge and Structure Institute Inc., ACE Consultants Ltd, Development Design Consultants Ltd and BCL Associates Ltd will also work as consultants. Road Transport and Highways Division secretary MAN Siddique, Bridges Division secretary Khondaker Anwarul Islam, and project director of the cross-border road network project, Ahmedur Rahman, among others, were present at the signing ceremony.
