Nationwide expressway network mission suspended for two years

A move to develop a nationwide expressway network for access controls on highways has remained halted for the past two years due to the authorities' inaction.

The Roads and Highways Department (RHD), supported by the Public-Private Partnership Authority (PPPA), conceptualised in 2018 a speedy, uninterrupted connectivity from one highway corridor to another.

Officials said they initially mapped a 3,933-kilometre highway network connecting roads in at least eight directions after a preliminary study aided by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.

The study also estimated an investment plan of Tk 78.55 billion suggesting projects along the highway corridors where four-lane work has been completed.

"But the idea lies shelved for no effort to sensitise the stakeholders concerned," said an official.

To materialise the time-consuming and expensive plan, he said, a policy decision by the government is needed targeting a timeframe and setting priorities.

The official further said that the decision on funding modality, be it PPP or government, is also necessary.

RHD has so far turned several highways into four lanes, including Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Mymensingh ones, with the idea of an uninterrupted road network.

But transport experts do not consider those as expressways having innumerable links with local areas.

For example, Dhaka-Mawa road, the country's first expressway, has more than 25 exit and entry points that frequently slow down the driving speed.

Bangladesh is yet to earn required driving speed and infrastructure quality as both are vital for sustained economic growth despite some pragmatic development in the road infrastructure design, experts observed.

Transport speed ranges between 35 and 50 kilometres per hour (kph) against the usual 80 to 110 kph in middle-income countries.

Bangladesh's ranking in infrastructure quality, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Competitive Report is found below the list.

The RHD has made good progress in doing the detailed design of Dhaka-Chattogram expressway, but the project has been shelved at the directive of the high-ups.

RHD's PPP cell additional chief engineer AK Mohammad Fazlul Karim said they are working on the concept of access controls on highways for enhancing efficiency of road network and ensuring road safety.

But he said such work is time-consuming and highly investment-oriented.

Sources said the RHD is trying to convince the government through the ministry concerned to adopt a policy decision to have the expressway network by 2041.

It recently held a meeting with road transport and highways division but failed to make any such decision.

However, joint chief of the division Mohammad Zakir Hossain said that the meeting preliminarily discussed the matter as further groundwork on the proposed network is needed.

According to the RHD and PPPA, 32 road segments connecting north and north-west, north-east, north-north, south, south-west and south-east, and circular road in Dhaka have been selected in the study.

The study recommended having a priority-settling model to select candidate roads considering the government's visions, five-year plans, and perspective plans and regional development goals.

Mr Karim said the expressway network has been selected to get regional traffic as the country is linked to Asian Highway, SAARC Highway, SASEC Highway, and BIMSTEC and BCIM corridors.