New rail, road bridges on Karnaphuli River

The government has taken an initiative to construct new rail and road bridges on the Karnaphuli River in Kalurghat of Chittagong to ease the corridor operational barriers of Chittagong-Cox's Bazar. The two bridges will help make a large corridor with the deep sea port of Matarbari.

Experts said, the railway bridge will serve as part of the Trans-Asian Railway network connecting China, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. The project titled 'Construction of a Rail Cum Road Bridge on Karnaphuli River' in Kalurghat proposed by the Ministry of Railways is now being examined by Planning Commission, whose initial construction has been estimated Tk 1,165 crore.

As part of the approval process, the Project Evaluation Comm-ittee (PEC) meeting was held recently. Chairperson of the Planning Commi-ssion's Physical Infrastr-ucture Division, Juyena Aziz presided over the meeting whic discusses various issues including the cost of proposed parts of the project.

An official of Planning Commission responsible for the project processing said, the primary proposal suggested the cooperation of the Korea's Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) to implement the project. Among the total expenditure, Tk 784 crore will be given from the EDCF as loan assistance. The remaining money will be provided from the government's own fund.

According to sources, the annual budget for the revised Annual Development Program (RADP) is included in the allocated unauthorized project list for the benefit of foreign aid. That means, there is no final agreement with the EDCF or any other development partner.

The Economic Relations Division (ERD) sources said that EDCF has agreed on the project though the final agreement is not signed yet. For the implementation of the project, ERD has sought financial support from the ECDF.  In 2016, the Korean Exim Bank examined the final feasibility of project, and took the initiative to complete the project approval process.

As part of this, the ERD-EDCF holds a meeting on 27 April last year in Dhaka. At that meeting, the total expenditure of the project and part of the EDCF's cooperation was determined.

According to sources, the Planning Commission is taking preparation to present the project to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in the next fiscal year. If approved, Bangladesh Railway will implement the project by August, 2023.

According to papers prepared for the PEC meeting said, there are two road bridges, an old and an poor rail bridge on the Karnaphuli River connected with Cox's Bazar and Southern Chittagong.

The railway bridge is located at Kalurghat. The bridge was built in 1931 on the meter gauge line. Later, in 1962, it was converted into a railway bridge road connecting it with the road bridge.

Now the condition of the bridge has been eroded and crumbled. Its efficiency is also decreased.  In this situation, the construction of new railway and road bridges has become inevitable due to the existing bridge cannot provide hassles free service of the area.