Dhaka-Sylhet 6-lane highway to open by June 2029: Minister

The Dhaka-Sylhet highway is expected to be upgraded to six lanes and opened to traffic by June 2029, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam said today (19 September).

He made the remarks while speaking to journalists after inspecting construction progress on the highway in Bijoynagar upazila of Brahmanbaria.

The minister said the Dhaka-Sylhet highway is a major road, and the six-lane project had been undertaken several years ago. However, progress remained unsatisfactory even after four and a half years, he said.

"After the present government came to power, we have taken a number of steps to accelerate implementation of the project," Rabiul said.

According to the minister, around 56% of the land acquisition process has been completed following measures taken over the past six months.

"Land acquisition was a major problem, but we are now on the verge of overcoming it," he said, expressing hope that the process would be completed within the next two months.

"We want to overcome the obstacles and discrepancies in the project and implement the highway accordingly," Rabiul said.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam. Photo: TBS

The project has 13 packages, of which work on five is progressing unsatisfactorily, while progress on the remaining eight packages is satisfactory, he said.

"We want to complete the construction of the highway in accordance with the tender schedule by June 2029 and open it to the public," the minister said.

He acknowledged that the ongoing construction was causing hardship for commuters, saying this was partly due to limited progress on the project over the past four years.

"The previous government and the interim government did not pay enough attention to this project," he said.

Rabiul added that efforts were under way to accelerate construction in sections where physical progress remained unsatisfactory.

Officials involved in the project were present during the minister's inspection.