Enthusiasm and huge excitement gripped the beach town Cox’s Bazar where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the Dohazari-Cox's Bazar train service tomorrow.
The historic railway connection between Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar is expected to substantially boost tourism in the beach town where an estimated 15 lakh and 20 lakh local tourists pay visit to the city adjoining Bay of Bengal. Safe, secured, convenient and comfortable communication would be established through launching of the train service.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere is absolutely electric as Awami League activists and other citizens are keeping busy hanging banners, festoons and posters at the venue where the Prime Minister is expected to inaugurate the train service – a dream come true project indeed!
Centering the event people of Cox’s Bazar are already preparing to receive the Prime Minister. Awami League and its allied organisations are keeping busy in decorating the venue where PM is scheduled to deliver her public speech.
Hundreds of enthusiastic party leaders and activists are seen busy arranging last-minute decoration, cleaning of the venue premises where thousands of guests are expected to gather tomorrow (Saturday).
Tight security is in place as members of the SSF, RAB, BGB and police have restricted movement near the public meeting venue and certain other areas. The entire tourist city has been under strict surveillance while the security forces are patrolling all the entry points to the district.
It is known that nine rail stations have been constructed on the 102-km Dohazari-Cox's Bazar stretch railway, including the construction of an eye-catching seashell-shaped railway station in beach town Cox's Bazar.
According to the project officials, under the project a new dual gauge single railway line from Dohazari to Cox's Bazar has been built at a cost of Tk 18,000 crore.
Spectacular iconic railway station has been constructed on 29 acres of land in the Hajipara area of Jhelongja Union, seven kilometers east-north of Cox's Bazar Sadar, said the project director.
The area of the six-storey station building is 1,82,000 square feet. Three platforms of 650 metres in length and 12 metres in width have been constructed near the iconic building.
Besides, a railway residential area has been built next to it. Apart from residential hotels, the station also has facilities like canteen, lockers and car parking.
Tourists can leave their luggage in the station lockers and spend the day at the beach. At least 46,000 people can travel through this station a day, the project director added.
On 3 April 2011, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone for the construction of the railway between Dohazari-Ramu-Cox's Bazar and Ramu-Ghumdhum.
Meanwhile the Prime Minister during her visit is also expected to inaugurate several other projects, including the Matarbari deep-sea port thermal power plant.
The plant consist of two thermal units based on ultra-supercritical coal-fired technology, with an installed capacity of 600MW each.
Each of the two units consist of a steam-based pulverised coal-fired boiler unit, a 600MW steam turbine and a 750MVA steam generator. The plant features a 275m-high flue gas stack and an electrostatic precipitator, which will limit the particulate emissions.
The power plant will require 180,000m³/h of water, which will be provided by a reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant. The RO plant will draw water from the Bay of Bengal, which is located on the western side of the project site.
The port terminal will include a fuel berth, a fuel transportation facility, and two coal-handling jetties. The channel length will be 14km, width will be 250m and maximum depth will be approximately 18.5m.
A new 400kV transmission line has been developed to transmit the electricity generated by the power plant to the national grid.