ADB Provides €360M to Upgrade Dhaka-Northwest International Road Corridor

On Sunday, the Government signed a € 360 million ($400 million) loan deal with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to help expand the Dhaka-Northwest International Trade Corridor in Bangladesh.

Fatima Yasmin, Secretary, Economic Relations Division (ERD) and Manmohan Parkash, Country Director, ADB, signed a loan agreement on behalf of the respective parties at a ceremony in Dhaka.

The assistance is the second tranche of $1.2 billion in multi-tranche ADB loans for the Second South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Dhaka-Northwest Corridor Road Project.

“This project is part of a priority international transport corridor that connects Bangladesh with Bhutan, India, and Nepal,” said Country Director Manmohan Parkash. “The project will further strengthen regional connectivity, and boost trade along the second busiest road artery in the country”. “When completed, it will reduce transport costs, travel time, vehicle emission, congestion, and accidents,” Parkash added.

The project will lead to the achievement of Bangladesh's target of an effective and modern transport network through four lanes of the 190-km segment from Elenga via Hatikumrul to Rangpur.

This will enhance road safety and introduce gender-responsive measures, including footbridges, footpaths and two designated lanes for slow-moving traffic, to render women's travel safer, as surveys indicate that women especially use foot or slow-moving vehicles such as rickshaws. Road operation and management in the Roads and Highway Department will also be strengthened. Climate-resilient design features will be adopted for constructing the road.

ADB has been supporting Bangladesh in improving the Dhaka-Northwest road corridor since the approval of the landmark Jamuna Bridge Project in 1994. The 70-kilometer Joydeypur-Elenga section of the road was improved under the SASEC Road Connectivity Project approved in 2012. It also improved the operational efficiency of Burimari and Benapole land ports, that provide gateways to Bhutan and India, respectively.

Transport infrastructure is the centerpiece of the ADB-supported SASEC program, which promotes regional prosperity. Since 2001, SASEC members signed and implemented 55 ADB-financed projects with a regional dimension worth more than $12.5 billion, including 36 projects worth $10.23 billion in the transport sector. Road travel accounts for 70% of all passenger traffic and 60% of freight in Bangladesh, as traffic grows at a rate of 8% a year.

ADB is dedicated to creating a stable, democratic, robust and peaceful Asia and the Pacific while pursuing its efforts to eliminate extreme poverty. Founded in 1966, it belongs to 68 members—49 from the region.