Purbachal Expressway-Madani Ave link roads planned for improved connectivity

Infograph: TBS

The government plans to construct two roads to connect Madani Avenue in Baridhara with the Purbachal Expressway next to the Bashundhara Residential Area in order to ease the traffic pressure in the capital's northern parts.

These roads will establish connectivity from Purbachal to Gulshan 2 and Rampura Road via Beraid and Natun Bazar, bypassing Kuril Bishwa Road, according to a development project proposal seen by The Business Standard.

One of the proposed roads, stretching 3.3km, will be constructed from Purbachal New Town to Madani Avenue via Yusufganj, while the other, about 5.23km in length, will go through Poshi, Kearia and Jolshiri housing projects.

The Local Government Division has proposed the project at a cost of Tk272 crore for the 8.5km roads, including four bridges and two culverts. The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) aims to complete the work by 2025.

But the Planning Commission, in a project evaluation meeting last month, raised objections to overestimated costs in several sectors of the project.

According to sources present in the meeting, presided over by Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian, a member of the Physical Infrastructure Division of the commission, an allocation of Tk119.84 crore has been sought by the LGED for the development of 8.53km of roads, with Tk14.05 crore estimated expense per kilometre. 

However, the LGED has another project for widening and strengthening roads at Dhaka Division upazilas and unions where the estimated cost for 1km road is Tk1.45 crore.

The LGED has also asked for Tk144.50 crore for the construction of the bridges (totalling 289 metres) at a cost of Tk50 lakh per metre. But Tk11-16 lakh per metre is being spent on bridges under similar projects of the organisation.

Planning Commission officials said a decision has been taken at the meeting to recommend approval of the project on the condition of cost reduction.

According to the project proposal, although many housing projects and industrial factories have been built in Rupganj of Narayanganj, the number of connecting roads in this area is very few. Once built, these link roads will boost the economy of Purbachal, especially Rupganj. Besides, the roads will serve as alternative traffic diversion routes between Purbachal Expressway and Madani Avenue.

The project aims to widen the roads by 100 feet, which will generate economic benefits to the tune of Tk138 crore annually through increased vehicle speed, time and fuel savings, according to the feasibility study report on the project.

The report said these two corridors carry an average of 2,241 vehicles per day, consuming 9,438 litres of fuel. Widening the road will save 2,831 litres of fuel per day.

On the other hand, an average of 4,956 passengers use these roads on a daily basis for three hours. Halving the journey time will save passengers 7,434 working hours a day. As such, the economic value of the time saved in a year equals Tk16 crore.

The Planning Commission has also objected to the proposal of appointing two consultants for 24 months at a cost of Tk1.20 crore.

At the evaluation meeting, it said the work is part of the LGED's regular activities. As such, the commission wants to know the reason for appointing additional consultants.

The commission also wants to know the reason for purchasing an SUV for Tk94 lakh under the project, as well as Tk10 lakh for travel expenses and Tk12 lakh for vehicle rental. The commission has also objected to the LGED's claim of about Tk2 crore for physical contingency and price contingency.

What stakeholders say

GM Muzibur Rahman, project director of the Rupganj Jolshiri Abashon Connecting Road Development Project, is working as an LGED coordinator for the project. 

He told TBS, "The LGED constructs bridges of 18 to 24 feet in width under similar projects. But in the proposed project, the width of the bridge will be 100 feet."

More bitumen will be needed for these link roads. Besides, dividers, road lights and drains will be constructed on both sides of the four-lane roads. That is why the cost will be higher than the cost of other projects, he said.

"There has been a positive response from the Planning Commission regarding the approval of the project. The proposal has been sent back to the Finance Division for the approval of recruitment through outsourcing," Muzibur Rahman added.

A high-up at the Physical Infrastructure Division of the Planning Commission, said, "At the PEC meeting, the issue of unreasonable expenditure proposals in various sectors was highlighted by the commission. The Local Government Division and the LGED responded to some questions raised by the commission."

Dr Shamsul Haque, a transportation expert and professor of the civil engineering department at Buet, told TBS that the road infrastructure from east to west of the capital is much less than the requirement. As such, the matter of establishing the connection of two roads is very important. However, before taking up such a project, the cost must be re-evaluated.

"Most of the cost of road projects in Bangladesh goes into land acquisition. But there is no land acquisition in the proposed project and the issue of the huge expenditure needs to be reconsidered," the Buet professor added.