Access road to be finally accessible

The long-awaited Bakalia access road, built to ease traffic and improve connectivity with south Chattogram from port city, will be opened for vehicular movements soon, said project officials.

Around 80 percent work of the road, being constructed under  the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA), have been completed, said project director Kazi Kader Neawz.

He said the formal inauguration of the access road, recommended in the city's 1995 master plan, is expected to be held in June next year.

Once it is implemented, residents of greater Bakalia and south Chattogram will be able to reach the central part of the city within a very short time, he added.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the road's construction on September 6 in 2016, which will connect  Siraj-ud-Doula road and Shah Amanat bridge.

Constructed at an estimated cost of Tk 206 crore,  the deadline for the 1.5km and 60-feet wide road was June 2019.

But the project has been delayed due to conflicts surrounding a 10-storey building on the alignment of the project and land acquisition cases. Currently, the project has been extended till June 2023.

CDA had taken an alternative step for construction of the road,  avoiding the existing building built on the way. The alignment of the access road will now be diverted to the northern side of the structure. The decision was taken following formation of a probe body over the matter, their report and recommendations from experts of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology.

Based on their alternative proposals, the planning ministry approved the revised DPP (development project proposal) for the Bakalia access road, and construction works began again, said officials.

CDA sources said the project would cost Tk 7 crore more. If the authorities had stuck to their original plans, the building had to be demolished and the project cost would have jumped to Tk 15 crore more, as the building's owner had to be compensated.