New highway to shorten Ctg-Cox’s Bazar route

CHATTOGRAM Sep 18: The government has floated a tender to appoint a contractor for upgrading the 60-kilometre Patiya-Anowara-Banshkhali-Toitong-Eidmoni road at an estimated cost of Tk1,300 crore.

The last date for submitting tenders is September 28, Pintu Chakma, executive engineer of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), Chattogram Zone, told the Daily Observer.

The revised Development Project Proposal (DPP) for the project has already been approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC). The road will be widened to 10.3 metres from the existing 5.5 metres, with the project funded by the government.

Construction is expected to begin this year. Under the project, the Anwara-Banshkhali-Toitong- Pekua-Badarkhali-Chakaria (Eidmoni) Regional Highway (R-170), from Kalabibir Dighi to Eidmoni, will be upgraded to proper standards and width.

Once completed, the upgraded road will reduce the distance between Chattogram and Cox's Bazar by nearly 30 kilometres and cut travel time by about one hour. It will also provide a shorter route from the Karnaphuli Tunnel to Cox's Bazar and improve access to the Matarbari Deep Sea Port.

The four-year project, approved at an ECNEC meeting on June 9, is scheduled to run from July 2026 to June 2030. It will upgrade a 58.2-kilometre stretch from Kalabibir Dighi in Anwara to Matamuhuri (Eidmoni) in Cox's Bazar. Road sections currently measuring around 18 feet will be widened to 34 feet.

Land acquisition is one of the major challenges. Tk341 crore of the project cost has been allocated for acquiring land, particularly in Banshkhali where several road curves need widening.

Officials said cargo transport to the Matarbari Deep Sea Port currently takes a longer route through the Karnaphuli Tunnel, Anwara, Shikalbaha Y-Junction, Patiya Bypass, Gachbaria, Chakaria and Badarkhali. The upgraded road will allow vehicles to travel more directly through Kalabibir Dighi, Banshkhali, Toitong, Pekua and Matamuhuri, reducing the journey by 30 to 40 kilometres and saving at least an hour.

The project is also expected to help the Karnaphuli Tunnel realise its full potential by allowing tourist vehicles travelling from Dhaka to Cox's Bazar to bypass Chattogram city, easing congestion there.
Pintu Chakma described the project as one of the most anticipated infrastructure initiatives in southern Chattogram.

He said the highway would connect the Karnaphuli Tunnel, Matarbari Deep Sea Port, economic zones and emerging industrial centres through a single transport network, creating opportunities for investment, employment and economic growth across southern Chattogram and Cox's Bazar.