Chairman of Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) Abdus Salam said the picture of port city will change after implementation of three project for removing water logging.
Addressing a view exchange meeting at Well Park Hotel at GEC point on Saturday, Salam termed the projects as the gifts of prime minister for the Chittagong people. " I am very happy as she gave the projects to CDA for implementation."
CDA Chairman informed that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Planning Comm-ission have approved the CDA's canals re-excavation, expansion and renovation project and Water Development Board's flood control, removing water-logging and improving drainage system project.
Under this scheme, 5,28,214 cubic meters soil will be removed from 36 canals flowing through Chittagong city alongside removing 4.20 lakh cubic meters mud, he said. "Besides, 98 acres of land will be acquired and 1.76 lakh meters retaining walls and 76km roads will be constructed under it apart from constructing a number of bridges and culverts." He added that government will construct the second elevated expressway in Chittagong to ease traffic congestion in the southeastern port city by 2020.
CDA has undertaken Tk 32.57 billion project to construct 16.5-kilometer long elevated expressway from Lalkhan Bazar to Shah Amanat Airport. This will be the second elevated expressway project after the 21-km Dhaka Elevated Expressway (DEE) which is to be constructed by a Thai company Ital-Thai on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) basis.
The CDA will start the construction of the expressway soon. The proposed expressway will connect the existing 6.8-kilometer flyover stretc-hed between Muradpur Gate-2 to Lalkhan Bazar in the port city.
He said the expressway will reduce traffic jams and cut travel time between the airport and the port city. He hopes after implementation of the projects, the people of Chittagong will be freed from water logging within next year. "Besides, the scenario of Chittagong will be changed for visible development works in next year as the development projects of Tk one lakh crore is undergoing now."
Among others, City Planner Shahinul Islam, Chief Engineer of CDA Jashim Uddin, Deputy secretary of CDA Amol Guha, CDA Board members Jashim Uddin, K B M Shahajan, Shohel Sakur were also present at the view exchange meeting.