The Government has signed a $300 million loan deal with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for building a dual-gauge railway connecting Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar.
Economic Relations Division Secretary Kazi Shofiqul Azam and Jyotsana Varma, principal country specialist of ADB, signed the loan agreement in Dhaka on Wednesday.
This assistance forms the first tranche of $1.5 billion ADB loans for the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar Railway Project, said a press release.
The first tranche will finance 20 percent of the progress towards constructing 102 kilometers of new railway line between Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar.
“This project, which is closely aligned with Bangladesh’s Seventh Five Year Plan, will provide efficient, safe and environmentally-friendly railway transport,” said Jyotsana Varma.
“The project design will integrate features that are friendly to the elderly, women, children, and people with disabilities,” he added.
The new rail link, which opens in 2022, aims to transport 2.9 million passengers annually between Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar by 2025.
The fund is the first part of $1.5 billion ADB loans for the SASEC Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar Railway Project.
The construction of this railway section is one of several ADB railway projects to help Bangladesh meet its targets under its Seventh Five-Year Plan and Railway Master Plan.
It will help boost Bangladesh Railway’s freight market share to 15 percent and passenger market share to 10 percent by 2020 – both are currently around 4 percent.
Source: The Daily Ittefaq
Any more update. Did the project actually started and who are the contractor and supervision consultant.