PM reviews infrastructure plan for smoother capital transport

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday reviewed a proposed transport infrastructure plan aimed at reducing traffic congestion in Dhaka by integrating an inner circular ring road with the capital’s circular waterway network.

The proposal was discussed at a meeting on the road management of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) held at the Cabinet Division conference room at the Secretariat, with the Prime Minister presiding, according to PM’s Deputy Press Secretary Hasan Shiplu.

Shiplu said the meeting received a detailed briefing on how the proposed project could help ease chronic traffic congestion in the capital. The Prime Minister was also informed about the latest progress of the Inner Circular Ring Road project.

According to the briefing, the proposed Inner Circular Ring Road will extend from Gabtoli to Babubazar and from Postogola to Demra.

Construction is currently in progress on the Rayerbazar, Hazaribagh and Kamrangirchar sections of the 12-kilometre project, while officials informed the meeting that approximately 45 per cent of the work has already been completed.

Officials said the completed ring road will enable vehicles travelling between Dhaka and Sylhet, Mawa and Chattogram to bypass the city’s inner roads, reducing pressure on the existing road network and helping to ease congestion. The meeting also reviewed a proposal to utilise the 110-kilometre circular waterway surrounding Dhaka as part of the city’s transport system.

Officials said bringing the waterway into operation would provide commuters with an alternative mode of travel between different parts of the capital, thereby reducing pressure on road transport.

Experts presented the technical aspects of the proposal, noting that the water transport system would be environmentally friendly, energy-efficient and time-saving, with electric-powered vessels operating along the route.

Among those attending the meeting were DSCC Administrator Abdus Salam, Local Government Division Secretary Shahidul Hasan, Road Transport Secretary Ziaul Haque, Shipping Secretary Md Zakaria, Railways Secretary Fahmidul Islam, BIWTA Chairman Mahidul Islam, DSCC Chief Executive Officer Zahirul Islam, Chief Engineer Nur Azizur Rahman, Additional Chief Engineer Kazi Md Borhan Uddin, Supervising Engineer Mithun Chandra Shil, and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) professors Khan Mahmud Amanat and Md Hadiuzzaman.