Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has chaired a high-level meeting to review the implementation of infrastructure projects for circular roads and waterways aimed at mitigating traffic congestion in the capital.
The meeting, focused on the road management of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), was held on Wednesday afternoon at the Cabinet Division conference room in the Secretariat.
Deputy Press Secretary Hasan Shiplu briefed the media, saying that the prime minister was updated on the latest status of the Inner Circular Ring Road construction project.
The project spans from Gabtoli to Babubazar and Postogola to Demra.
Construction is currently underway on a 12-kilometre stretch covering the Rayer Bazar, Hazaribagh, and Kamrangirchar areas.
The meeting was informed that 45 per cent of the work on this route has been completed.
Once the circular ring road is operational, vehicles travelling towards Sylhet, Mawa, and Chattogram will no longer need to use the internal roads of the capital. This is expected to significantly reduce the pressure on city traffic and alleviate congestion.
Furthermore, the meeting highlighted the potential of the 110-kilometre waterway surrounding Dhaka. Re-activating this route would allow commuters to travel easily from one destination to another, further reducing the reliance on road transport.
Technical experts at the meeting said utilizing the waterways would be environment-friendly, fuel-efficient, and time-saving, as the vessels would be electric-powered.
The meeting was attended by DSCC Administrator Abdus Salam, Local Government Division Secretary Shahidul Hassan, Road Transport Secretary Ziaul Haque, Shipping Secretary Md Zakaria, and Railways Secretary Fahimul Islam.
Also present were BIWTA Chairman Muhidul Islam, DSCC Chief Executive Zahirul Islam, Chief Engineer Nur Azizur Rahman, Additional Chief Engineer Kazi Md Borhan Uddin, and Superintending Engineer Mithun Chandra Shill.
Academic expertise was provided by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Professors Khan Mahmud Amanat and Md Hadiuzzaman.
