DHAKA, Jan 24, 2019 (BSS) – The government today signed an agreement with a Chinese firm to upgrade 190-kilomiter road from Elenga to Rangpur to four-lane highway via Hatikumrul under the SASEC Road Connectivity Project-II to ease the road communication between the capital and the northern districts.
“The government will upgrade the 190-km Elenga-Hatikumrul-Rangpur national highway at a cost of Taka around 12,000 crore,” Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader told the deal signing ceremony at a city hotel.
He said initially, the Road and Highways Department signed a contract with Chinese firm Hego and local company Mir Akter Hossain Limited to upgrade 20 km from the west side of Bangabandhu Bridge to Hatikumrul in Sirajganj district within 36 months at a cost of Taka 675 crore.
The minister said Asian Development Bank (ADB) has financed upgrading the 190 km national highway to four-land under the road connectivity project ‘South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC)’.
Chief Engineer of Roads and Highways Department Ebne Alam Hasan and Leu Xyao Meyo of Chinese firm Hego and Mir Akter Hossain Limited signed the deal on behalf of their respective sides.
According to the deal, the contraction firm will build seven bridges, 17 culverts, one flyover, five underpasses and 12 bus bays under the contract.
Road Transport and Highways Division secretary M Nazrul Islam, ADB country director Manmohan Parkash, project director Kazi Shahriar Hossain and officials concerned were present on the occasion.
Earlier, the government adopted a multipurpose plan to upgrade 1,752-km highways to four-lane along with constructing road dividers and two-lane service roads on both sides of the highways for low speed vehicles to avoid accidents.