The much-awaited Dhaka Elevated Expressway – one of the mega infrastructure projects under the current government – is set to be partially opened to commuters on Saturday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the Kawla-Farmgate section of the expressway, said Road, Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, UNB reports.

Once opened, it will take 10 minutes for a vehicle with a speed upto 60km per hour to reach Farmgate from Kawla.

About 80,000 vehicles will be able to pass through the Dhaka Elevated Expressway every day, project officials say.

The expressway is expected to ease Dhaka’s traffic congestion and commuting costs by reducing travel times to a great extent.

When fully completed, the Dhaka Elevated Expressway will run from the capital’s Kawla to Kutubkhali area of Dhaka-Chattogram highway via Kuril-Banani-Mohakhali-Tejgaon-Moghbazar-Kamalapur-Sayedabad-Jatrabari, according to Obaidul Quader.

From September 2, commuters will be able to use the 11.5-km section of the expressway from Kawla to Farmgate.
The minister said vehicles plying on Dhaka Elevated Expressway will have to pay tolls. Tolls will be collected in four categories.

Private cars, microbuses (<16 seats) and mini-trucks (<3 tonnes) will have to pay Tk 80, medium-sized trucks (up to 6 wheels) and large trucks with more than 6 wheels will pay Tk 320 and Tk 400 respectively.

Meanwhile, all buses and minibuses with 16 or more seats will have to pay Tk 160 to use the Kawla-Farmgate section of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway.

Motorcycles, bicycles and three-wheelers will not be allowed to ply on the expressway.

A public rally has been organised at the old trade fair ground in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar on September 2 to mark the inauguration of a section of the expressway. The rally will be addressed by the prime minister, said Quader.

On December 15, 2013, Bangladesh Bridge Authority signed a revised agreement with First Dhaka Elevated Expressway Company Limited, the investment company of the project.

It is being built in partnership with Thailand-based Italian Thai Development Public Company Limited (51 percent), China Shandong International Economic & Technical Cooperation Group (34 percent) and Sinohydro Corporation Limited (15 percent).

Dhaka Elevated Expressway project director, AHMS Akhtar, told UNB that the construction of the expressway is being completed in three phases.

Ninety-eight percent of the first parts up to Banani and 54 percent of the work from Banani to Moghbazar have been completed, he said.

The elevated expressway will serve as an alternative road north-south of Dhaka. It will connect Hemayetpur-Kadamtali-Nimtoli-Sirajdikhan-Madanganj-Dhaka-Chattogram Highway-Madanpur directly.

On the other hand, vehicles from the south-western region and the eastern region of the country will be able to enter the north-western region directly without entering Dhaka – reducing travel time and traffic congestion within Dhaka.