Chattogram Elevated Expressway: Port city to see new era in connectivity, trade

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday virtually inaugurated the port city’s first elevated expressway, which is expected to usher in a new era in connectivity and trade.

As the expressway will create a route in addition to the city’s main thoroughfare, it is expected to speed up the transport of goods and passengers while also reducing travel time and cost, said both traders and commuters.

This new route would come as an advantage for both northbound and southbound traffic, which would in turn boost business activities.

Additionally, the expressway will lead to newer investment opportunities in the port city as road connectivity would become more efficient.

Omar Hazzaz, president of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), said the newly built elevated expressway will add a new dimension to the city’s communication system and be an asset for the city dwellers and the business community alike.

He said the city would earlier depend on the single main thoroughfare, which would often create gridlocks at several commercially important points. “This used to discourage foreign buyers and investors to visit.”

The 16.5km expressway will ease traffic congestions from the airport to Lalkhan Bazar area and cut travel time significantly. Earlier, it took around two hours to commute between the two points.

The entire expressway runs through the city from Patenga to Lalkhan Bazar.

Mahmud Ullah, a resident of the Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ), said, “The expressway will help us commute from the airport to Tiger Pass area [around 500 metres from Lalkhan Bazar] in just 15-20 minutes, finally bringing an end to being stuck in traffic jams.”

The CCCI president, however, stressed the need for the quick construction of the expressway ramps to ensure the actual benefit of the megastructure.

The Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) yesterday organised the expressway’s inauguration, which was attended by hundreds of people from the port city amid much fanfare and festivity.

Tofazzel Hossain, 50, who came to the programme from Agrabad area, said, “I came here to see the megastructure, which will change the whole appearance of our city!”

Project Director Mahfuzur Rahman said the toll rates for the expressway have not been fixed yet as the booths are yet to be built.

Though inaugurated, the expressway is not yet open to the public as all facilities to support vehicular movement have not been completed.

Asked when it would be open for traffic, he said, “We can’t give a specific date as there is much work left to be done, which may take months.”

The project, taken up by the CDA, was initiated to facilitate smooth communication in Chattogram city — the country’s prime seaport.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved the project in July 2017, with an original cost of Tk 3,250 croreand a deadline set for June 2020.

However, the government extended the deadline twice, as the CDA had failed to initiate project implementation on time.

The updated cost of the project now stands at Tk 4,298.95 crore with the deadline shifted to June 2024.

The under-construction four-lane Chattogram Elevated Expressway, spanning 16.5 metres, is fully funded by the government.

With the inclusion of its 14 ramps — facilitating entries to and exits from Tiger Pass, Agrabad, Barik Building, Nimtala, Biswa Road, Customs area, CEPZ, Karnaphuli EPZ, Katghar area and the sea-beach intersections — the total length of the expressway will be 28.5km.

Till November 12, the project’s construction progress stood at 85 percent, while that of the ramps was only 10 percent.

Last August, the CDA decided to name the expressway after former city mayor and freedom fighter ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury.