Matarbari access road work begins in July

A 27-kilometre road is being constructed from Cox's Bazar's Chakaria to Matarbari to facilitate road connectivity with the under-construction Matarbari Deep Sea Port.

The tendering process of the Tk8,821 crore project is currently in progress. The physical work of this project is scheduled to begin in July this year.

Meanwhile, the authorities concerned have completed the land acquisition process and the work to fill the land with mud and stone is underway.

"We want to build the road before the port opens in 2026. Technical evaluation of submitted tenders is now underway. The financial evaluation will be conducted after that. After selecting qualified bidders, we will be able to start the physical work in July", said the project director Zakir Hossain.

Once the road is up and running, goods to and from the port can be easily transported across the country. The construction period of the road was set from January 2020 to December 2026 with a one-year defect liability period, he said.

A Japanese company Oriental Consultant Global Company Ltd prepared the field survey report, design, costing and international tender for the project.

According to Oriental Consultant's report, out of the 27.2 km long road, a number of bridges will be made with lengths totalling 10 km. A four-lane road will be made towards the seaport end and the rest of the road will be two-lanes. Besides, three rail overpasses will be constructed so that road traffic is not obstructed due to railway lines.

About 26 km of the Port Access Road will be two-lane including 14 bridges and another 1.2 km will be a four-lane North-South Connector Road, said Zakir Hossain, who is also an additional chief engineer of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD).

The project will connect Matarbari deep sea port with the Chattogram-Cox's Bazar four-lane highway. The 1.2km four-lane road will be built from Matarbari Port to Dhalghat Roundabout and the two-lane 26km road will be constructed from Dhalghat to Fasiakhali. This road will be upgraded to a four-lane highway in the future, the project director said, adding that the project will be implemented in three packages — Civil Works (CW) 3A, CW 3B, and CW 3C. 

Among the total funds of the project, Japan International Corporation Agency (Jica) will provide loan assistance of Tk6,150.19 crore while the remaining Tk2,671.15 crore will be spent from government funds.