Chattogram's elevated expressway named 'CDA Mayor Mohiuddin Chowdhury Flyover'

The 16 km elevated expressway under construction in Chattogram has been named after former mayor and Awami League leader ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury.

The name was approved in the 458th board meeting of Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) held on Thursday (24 August), under the chairmanship of CDA Chairman Zahirul Alam Dubash.

CDA board member Advocate Jinat Sohana Chowdhury told The Business Standard, "The CDA Mayor Mohiuddin Chowdhury flyover has been named with the consent of the board members."

The Elevated Expressway project undertaken to keep the Chattogram port-centric traffic normal and to alleviate the traffic congestion in the city was approved at the 2017 Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting. At that time the project cost was estimated to be Tk3,250 crore and the deadline was estimated to be June 2022.

When the project started in 2019, there were various complications including objections from Chattogram port, waiting for land acquisition, not getting permission from the traffic department, objections about the design of Lalkhan Bazar section and non-operation of alternative roads.

There were complaints that the project was undertaken without proper feasibility study.

It was revised in the (ECNEC) meeting held on 13 September 2022 under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

As a result, the design of the construction work was changed five years after approval. The cost of the project increased by Tk1,048 crores to Tk4,298.95 crores. Besides, the construction period has been extended by two years till June 2024.

It was announced in September last year that 10 km of the elevated expressway from Patenga to Nimtala Bishwaroad will be opened in February this year, but that did not happen.

Then those concerned had said that by September of this year, the entire 16 km flyover will be inaugurated and opened together.