Parts of a mega infrastructure project adjacent to the Bay of Bengal caved in on Saturday. A picture of the Outer Ring Road collapsing in the Khajurtala area of Patenga have become viral on social media since the last couple of days.  The Chattogrram Development Authority (CDA) has been implementing the project of building the road in the port city. However, the CDA has contended that the project work could not be completed due to heavy rain during the past six days.

CDA chief engineer Kazi Hasan Bin Shams, who is also director of the Coastal Outer Ring Road project, yesterday told The Independent, “The road collapsed due to torrential rain and unusual high tide of water during the last few days. We couldn’t finish the work because of incessant rain.” The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Bangladesh government inked an agreement in 2007 to build the Outer Ring Road from Patenga to Fouzdarhat.  The CDA started the construction of the four-lane road in July 2016. A construction company, Spectrera Engineering Corporation, has been given the responsibility of carrying out the work. Under the project, a 17.46-km road, including 15.20 km of the main road and 2.15km of the connecting road, is being built. The road was scheduled to be inaugurated at the end of this year.

A walkway of around 5-km is also being constructed beside the road.

Kazi Hasan Bin Shams told The Independent, “The project is not yet completed. The road from that place will be very high. Owing to the abnormal tide, the guard wall collapsed and caused a leakage. Eventually, the sand moved away.” He also said repair works have already begun at the spot of the collapse.