DHAKA, 28 August 2021, (TON): It will support a new trade route connecting Ctg port with India’s northeastern states through the land ports of Akhaura, Sheola, and Tamabil, and from there to Bhutan and Myanmar.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $1.78 billion multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) to improve mobility, road safety, and regional trade along the Dhaka-Sylhet trade corridor in Bangladesh.

according to the global lender “The SASEC Dhaka-Sylhet Corridor Road Investment Project will be delivered in four tranches.”

The $400 million first tranche of the MFF will help finance the initial works of the major contracts for the widening of about 210 km of National Highway 2 along the Dhaka–Sylhet corridor from two to four lanes. It will include 60 km of a footpath, 26 foot bridges, and 13 overpasses.

Its design will have features responsive to the needs of the elderly, women, children, and the differently abled, as well as disaster and climate risks.

The government will fund $911,000,000 of the total project cost of $2,690,000,000. Apart from the MFF, ADB will also provide a $1,000,000 technical assistance grant from its Technical Assistance Special Fund and an additional $2,000,000 grant from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, financed by the Government of Japan, to support capacity building of the Roads and Highways Department on road safety and maintenance, climate change, and gender equality and social inclusion.

The Dhaka-Sylhet corridor, once complete, will support a new trade route connecting Chittagong port with India’s northeastern states through the three land ports of Akhaura, Sheola, and Tamabil, and from there to Bhutan and Myanmar.