Bangladesh bypass for capital Dhaka

In Bangladesh, planning is underway for a new bypass for capital Dhaka. The Joydevpur-Debogram-Bhulta road project will be built under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. The project has been approved by Bangladesh’s Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC). Under the PPP model, the Bangladeshi Government will select a road developer at an unusually higher bid price, which would make the Dhaka bypass road costlier for commuters, according to officials and this is the subject both of scrutiny, and some criticism. The work calls for an upgrade of the 48km route that currently has two lanes, to a four-lane road. The overall project cost to upgrade the Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane road is US$407.3 million. The government will invest close to $30.26 million while the private firm will spend close to $329.15 million under the PPP arrangement. The project is scheduled for completion by 2020.