Construction of the Faujdarhat-Baizid Bostami road will resume with a new design after five years.
Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) has appointed a consultant firm to construct the two-lane road into a four-lane one. The firm has submitted a budget and plan in this regard.
The CDA officials said the four-lane road from the Nursing Institute of Faujdarhat to the BSRM Steel Factory of Baizid Bostami area will be six kilometres in length.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved a project of Tk 37 crore for a two-lane road in 1999. Accordingly, the CDA finished the work of land acquisition in 2004 and completed construction of three kilometres from Faujdarhat point to Salimpur area by 2006, sources said.
In the meantime, the government allocated about 104 acres of land for the Asian University for Women (AUW), including the road area.
Construction stopped midway as the government as well as the AUW authorities asked CDA not to make the road through the university area for security reasons regarding the students. Besides, it was a hilly zone.
Admitting the government's direction in this regard, CDA Chief Engineer Iqbal Hossain said after reviewing all issues they made a new design for the road. According to the previous design it was a two-lane road that has been developed into a four-lane.
Iqbal said the government would develop the Dhaka-Chittagong highway into four lanes and following the highway CDA would develop this road into four lanes.
The CDA would acquire about 22 acres of land for the project and the consultant firm SARM Associate submitted its report to them, Iqbal said, adding that the budget of the project was Tk100 crore for the six-kilometre road.
He said they would make a diversion road two kilometres away from the university campus, which would be financed by the government. The government assured of passing the revised proposal in this regard, CDA officials said.
City planner Engineer Ali Ashraf, former president of Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh, Chittagong, said the road's construction would play a significant role in reducing traffic jam in Faujdarhat as well as the city area. The Rangamati, Kaptai or North Chittagong-bound transport from Dhaka would not need to use the city roads, he added.
If this road is constructed, it will be an outer ring road from Faujdarhat to Kuaish,” Ashraf added.
He said CDA should not make the road by cutting hills so as to save the natural resources and give the road a good look.