Hossen Sohel of DOT
A consortium of companies from China – Sichuan Road and Bridge Group, Shamim Enterprise Ltd, and UDC Construction Limited—have signed a concession contract with the government of Bangladesh to upgrade the Dhaka Bypass under a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement, reports The Daily Sun.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) acted as financial advisor on the transaction to the Public–Private Partnership Authority (PPPA) of Bangladesh.
Under the contract signed with the Ministry of Roads and Bridges, a four-lane tollway and a two-lane service road will be added to the Joydevpur–Debogram–Bhulta–Madanpur Road (N-105) section of the expressway, ADB said on Thursday.
The 48-kilometer (km) project will provide a major arterial connection between the industrial zone northeast of Dhaka and national highway N1 connecting to the port city of Chattogram, as well as to N2, N3, and N4 highways leading to other major cities.
The consortium will design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the tolled expressway over a 25-year concession period, and will be able to charge tolls based on vehicle type.
The Government of Bangladesh will offer viability gap funding of 3.1 billion taka and a minimum revenue guarantee to the consortium to optimize the cost of financing.
The contract also provides the government with a share of revenues generated by the consortium over a certain threshold.
“This project brings a new dimension to public service delivery in Bangladesh. It is the first access-controlled expressway in the country,” said Chief Executive Officer of PPPA Syed Afsor H. Uddin.
He said this landmark transaction will pave the way for a pipeline of national expressways across Bangladesh.
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