One of Bangladesh’s most critical regional transport corridors and two land ports will be upgraded to improve connectivity and trade across South Asia.
An investment of US$258 million will be provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and partner organizations to fund the partial improvement of the Dhaka-Chittagong-Northwest transport corridor as well as the land ports at Benapole and Burimari.
“Upgrading this important section of the Dhaka-Chittagong-Northwest transport corridor will give a big lift to both domestic and subregional trade, as well as encouraging more domestic and foreign investment,” said Juan Miranda, director general of ADB’s South Asia department, in a press release.
The South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Road Connectivity Project will expand and improve a 70-kilometer section of the Dhaka-Northwest corridor, the second busiest arterial route in the country.
The narrow two-lane road, which suffers from serious congestion and high accident rates, will be expanded to four lanes to help ease bottlenecks, reduce crashes, and improve people’s access to markets, schools, and other social services.
The initiative will also upgrade the land ports at Benapole and Burimari, which handle the bulk of goods transported between Bangladesh and India. These upgrades will boost trade volumes, improve traffic flows, and reduce the loss of perishable goods.
Studies show upgrading regional transport corridors in Bangladesh will support the movement of about 18 million tons of freight in Bhutan, India, and Nepal, boosting intra-regional trade across South Asia.
The SASEC program is an initiative of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal to build closer links that will spur growth across the sub-region. The project will be carried out over five years with an estimated completion date of December 2017.
Photo: as1am
