Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

The World Bank in March last year approved a loan for the biggest road safety project in Bangladesh. The loan contract with Bangladesh authorities has to be signed within one and a half years of the approval, or else, the loan would be cancelled, said officials.

A new rail-plus-road bridge at Kalurghat in Chattogram is going to cost almost 12 times the initial estimate because the authorities spent nine years doing multiple feasibility studies and designing and redesigning the bridge.

The second Dhaka-Narayanganj rail line project, which is already running behind schedule, has run into major trouble as a contractor has sought to cancel the contract.

The Roads and Highways Department will build 24km of bypass roads and a flyover on Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar highway to eliminate bottlenecks in five town areas.

Bangladesh Railway is looking to build a new rail line to bring Sonamasjid land port under the country’s rail network.

Motorcycle sales declined by 30 per cent in Bangladesh in the past two months due to higher inflationary pressures and a draft policy that makes securing a driving licence mandatory before buying two-wheelers.

When the Road Transport Act-2018 was enacted over four years ago incorporating a system of demerit points on driving licenses for traffic violation, the authorities said the system would go a long way in ensuring road safety.

A problem over funding the expansion of the Bhanga-Jashore-Benapole highway project is raising concerns that the work of the much-needed project may take more time to kick off.

With more than two-thirds of the 3,111 level crossings in the country considered unsafe, a government survey has recommended improving safety features of around 2,000 rail crossings.

A state-run Chinese company has proposed investing and constructing the Bhanga-Payra Port railline on a public-private partnership model.

Most vehicles involved in recent major and sensational road crashes did not have the required documents, including valid fitness certificates, or their drivers were without a valid licence.

The government is going to turn the 43km Sylhet to Sheola Land Port road into a dual carriageway to improve regional connectivity.

Ignoring the Revised Strategic Transport Plan, government agencies on their own initiated eight major projects in and around the capital. The projects could end up on the chopping block and the money already spent could be written off.

Bangladesh Road Transport Authority is set to increase its capacity to track stolen vehicles and monitor traffic movement by setting up 12 additional radio-frequency identification (RFID) stations at the capital’s entry and exit points over the next 12 months.

Although vehicle owners have been giving money for the fund for road accident victims since January, the authorities could not yet start handing out the compensations yet.

Motorcycle manufacturers and assemblers have formally opposed the draft that transport authorities have prepared to control bikes in a bid to curb road crashes.

Gabtoli Bus Terminal, the largest and the busiest inter-district bus terminal in the capital, has to be relocated for the construction of a metro rail line. This may lead to suffering for tens of thousands of passengers.

While many passengers welcomed the initiative, taken by BR to prevent black marketing of tickets, others, especially those of lower income groups, found the process very complicated

The government is going to construct another metro rail line, whose construction cost per km is some 35 percent higher than that of a similar metro line.

The metro rail authorities and the Roads and Highways Department are in a tussle over the route alignment of MRT-5 (north), physical work on which is expected to start in July.