The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has started the implementation of Outer Ring Road to reduce traffic congestion in Dhaka.
The length of the eight-lane circular road will be about 132 km. The project will be implemented in two phases. The potential cost has been estimated at Tk 15,000 crore.
According to the concerned, in the first phase, a 48 km eight-lane road will be constructed from Hemayetpur in Savar to Madanpur in Keraniganj. At present there are 12 kilometers of four lane roads. It will have 4 more lanes. The remaining 36 km will have to be acquired and completely rebuilt.
The eight-lane road will be 240 to 300 feet wide. In this part 2 rest areas, 5 interchanges, 6 bridges, 20 overpasses and underpasses will be constructed. 384 hectares of land will have to be acquired to build 36 km of roads. It will cost Tk 10,200 crore to complete this work.
The concerned people further said that the work of preparing the survey report of this project has already been completed 95 percent. 100 percent work will be completed within this year. A G2G agreement has also been signed between Japan and Bangladesh for the implementation of this project. The project will be implemented in Private Public Partnership (PPP). Even if the activities are carried out at normal speed, it will be possible to open this road for traffic by 2028.
In the second phase, the cost of widening 84 km road and implementing development work has been estimated at around Tk 5,000 crore. Of the existing roads, 48 km has 2 lanes and 36 km has 4 lanes. These roads will be upgraded to 8 lanes.
The narrow bridges will be demolished and 8 lanes will be built. Interchange, overpass, underpass will be constructed where necessary. The decision on how to complete the development work in this part has not been finalized yet.
The implementation of the Outer Ring Road is essential to ensure the desired benefits of the Padma Bridge to the people of Dhaka. That is why the RHD is now active in the area. Intensive monitoring is being carried out on the implementation of this project from the higher echelons of the government. Implementation of the Outer Ring Road has also been recommended in the Draft Detailed Area Plan (DAP).
The additional chief engineer (Dhaka zone) of the roads and highways department, Sabuj Uddin Khan, said that, "The Outer Ring Road has been proposed in the Revised Strategic Transport Plan (RSTP). The RHD has got the responsibility of implementing the project from the government. The work of feasibility study has already been completed. The government has signed a G2G agreement with Japan, which is interested in implementing the PPP.”
Meanwhile, the government has announced to make Bangladesh a middle-income country in 2021 and a developed and prosperous country in 2041. In order to reach that goal, the capital Dhaka has to be made more livable. Therefore, it has been proposed to build a road network like in developed countries, the concerned people said.
However, the road network has a big role in the overall development and progress including economic development. The government has undertaken several mega projects to reduce traffic congestion in Dhaka.
