Hatirjheel-Begunbari roads likely to open from Nov
But to be finished by June 2012
The much-awaited Hatirjheel-Begunbari roads are likely to be opened on a temporary basis from November.
Prof Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), who is also overseeing the technical aspects of the project, said the roads would not have the carpeting when opened but it will be finished by June 2012, as the construction work is now going swiftly.
He said land acquisition was the main reason for the delay.
According to original timeframe, land acquisition was supposed to be completed by December 2007 but it rolled till the last quarter of 2010.
A total of 299.24 acres of land have been acquired of which about 219 acres have been acquired newly while the rest belonged to different government organisations.
The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) on October 8, 2007 approved the Tk 1473.58 crore Integrated Development of Hatirjheel Area project, which was scheduled to be completed by June 2010.
In 2008, the project was revised and its estimated cost stood at around Tk 1,481 crore.
Prof Rahman said the project deadline was extended to June 2011 last year and now a proposal to extend the deadline further to June 2012 is awaiting approval from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works.
The 11 kilometres long and 60 feet wide road includes walkways, a service road and an expressway.
The two-lane single track expressway starting from the Tongi Diversion road will connect Gulshan and Pragati Sharani while the dual-carriageway Service Road the local roads, added Prof Rahman.
Six bridges would also be constructed under the project and they are expected to be ready by next February, said Prof Rahman, adding that of them, four bridges will be constructed at four points from Tongi Diversion Road to Rampura -- two connecting local roads and two linking the expressway.
Two other bridges would be constructed at the link points of Hatirjheel and Gulshan Lake, and Banani and Hatirjheel.
The project also includes revival of the Begunbari canal.
Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha, Local Government Engineering Division, Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa), Bangladesh Army and Buet are jointly working on the project.
Alongside road construction, the other objectives of the project are rainwater retention, flood protection and proper wastewater disposal.
Prof Rahman said the work of diversion sewer, designed to pass the industrial waste to a treatment plant, will be finished before this monsoon. Almost 60 percent of the work has already been done and the rest will be completed by December.
The digging is aimed to free the canal from toxic and solid waste so that it can be used for rainwater retention, he explained.
Liakat Ali, deputy managing director (operation and maintenance) of Wasa, said the construction of Dasher Kandi Waste Treatment Plant, another component of the project costing around Tk 485 crore, will start shortly.
Citing that Ecnec has already approved the project, he said the waste management plant for Begunbari-Hatirjheel catchments area would take three to four years to complete.
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