GLOBALink | Bangladeshi PM inaugurates construction of mega China-funded elevated expressway project

DHAKA, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Saturday inaugurated the construction of a mega China-funded elevated expressway project.

Joining from her official residence Ganabhaban in Dhaka, she opened the construction work virtually for the 24-km Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway.

The project, involving an estimated cost of 175.53 billion taka (1.72 billion U.S. dollars), was approved in a bid to enable quick entry and exit of vehicles to and from Dhaka and facilitate transit trade with regional countries.

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming said the project will improve the transportation infrastructure of Bangladesh and promote its vital role in regional connectivity.

It echoes the purpose of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to promote infrastructural connectivity, and stands as another example of how Bangladesh's Vision 2041 plan and the BRI integrate and benefit the peoples of both countries.

Bangladesh's Bridges Division has already inked a memorandum of understanding with the China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) to build the elevated expressway from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka to Ashulia on the outskirts of the northern part of the capital.

The project will be implemented with Chinese financial assistance on a government-to-government basis.

The plans for improving 14.28 km of existing road and constructing toll stations, exit and entry ramps and other ancillary works have also been included in the elevated expressway project, which will be implemented in five years.

Upon completion, it will allow 40 million people from 30 districts in the country to enter and exit Dhaka quickly and easily.

The project is also expected to boost the country's gross domestic product by 0.21 percent, according to project documents.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service