Asian Development Bank (ADB) is going to support the South Asian Sub-regional Economic Cooperation Railway Connectivity, by
US$  505 million loan, to convert the single-track Akhaura-Laksam line to a double-track, Economic Relations Division (ERD) officials said.
An agreement is likely to be signed between the ERD and ADB on June 18, ERD joint secretary (ADB wing) Saifuddin Ahmed told The Independent yesterday.
The ADB board of directors had approved the project, involving Tk 6,504.55 crore, on September 30, 2014. Following this, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) had approved the construction of two dual-gauge double rail lines, from Akhaura to Laksam, on December 23, 2014.
Bangladesh Railway will implement the project, titled “Construction of Dual Gauge Double Rail Line and Conversion of Existing Rail Line into Dual Gauge between Akhaura and Laksam”, by June 2020.
According to the detail project plan (DPP), the total length of the two dual gauge rail lines would be 144 km, while another 40-km-long dual gauge rail line would be constructed for loop and siding lines. Of the total project cost of Tk. 6,504.55 crore, Tk. 1,026.66 crore will come from the  government exchequer, while ADB and  European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide  Tk. 5,477.88 crore.
The project entails upgrading the 72-m-long Akhaura-Laksam section of the Dhaka-Chittagong railway corridor to a double track railway line with modern signalling equipment. The section is part of a major sub-regional corridor and the Trans-Asia Railway network. Under the project, 11 railway stations will be improved and strengthened, so as to increase the capacity of the railway sector.
By increasing the capacity of a major international trade corridor, the project will boost the national economy, and facilitate sub-regional cooperation and trade, as well. The project was endorsed by the SASEC Trade Facilitation and Transport Working Group in a meeting held in Singapore on October 30, 2013.
Planning minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said that after the completion of the work on Akhaura-Laksam section, double dual gauge line, the entire stretch of rail lines between Dhaka and Chittagong would be turned into double dual-gauge ones, facilitating transportation of goods and passengers.
Kamal said the government was aiming to enhance connectivity with neighbouring countries and Dhaka-Chittagong rail line would soon turn into a main corridor of the Trans-Asian Railway.
The project is part of a broader program to upgrade the whole 321-km rail corridor  between the capital and the main national port city, by 2020.
The line is part of the southern corridor of the Trans-Asian Railway network, promulgated in 1999 by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. The project will also facilitate the rail connection of the landlocked north-east states of India with a seaport.
According to ADB, Bangladesh has the potential to become a transport and transhipment centre for the sub-region. It borders India and Myanmar and is close to the landlocked countries of Bhutan and Nepal.
Together with the Bangabandhu Bridge over River Jamuna (the Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge) and the provision of access to Chittagong Port, the Dhaka-Chittagong corridor can facilitate trade between Bangladesh and with the north-eastern states of India, the Indian state of West Bengal, Bhutan, and Nepal, creating the potential to attract more foreign and domestic investments to the country.
Bangladesh is located on major international trade corridors, as identified in the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Regional Multimodal Transport Study and the Trans-Asian Railway network.