Kalurghat-Chaktai Marine Drive to open to all vehicles by December

All types of vehicles are expected to start running on the much-awaited Kalurghat-Chaktai four-lane Marine Drive by December this year, according to the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA).

About 92% of the construction work of the 9.5-kilometre-long project has already been completed, CDA sources said.

Project Director Engineer Rajib Das told BSS that the remaining work is expected to be completed by December, allowing all types of vehicles to use the road.

The embankment-cum-marine drive along the western bank of the Karnaphuli River is being constructed at a cost of Tk2,275 crore.

Rajib Das said around 10 kilometres of the stretch has been completed, while two kilometres of land from the Kalurghat Industrial Area to the Railway Bridge was recently acquired for the project.

He said the acquisition of 100 metres of land adjacent to the Kalurghat Bridge area is expected to be completed within the stipulated time. The CDA has already compensated the landowners to facilitate smooth construction, he added.

A four-kilometre walkway from Kalpolok at Chaktai to Bolirhat has already been completed.

The CDA also plans to develop a five-kilometre tourist zone along the riverbank in Bakalia, including a walkway from Shah Amanat Bridge to Bolirhat and a restaurant with entertainment facilities for children.

The embankment road will be four lanes wide, 80 feet in width and 24.5 feet above sea level. The project is being implemented in line with JBIC guidelines and the 1995 Chattogram Metropolitan Master Plan.

Twelve high-tide protection regulators and pump houses have already been installed at canal mouths to facilitate efficient drainage of rainwater.

Construction of the project began in June 2019 with the inauguration of a sluice gate at the Chaktai Canal estuary. The government later granted a one-year extension, setting this June as the revised completion deadline.