Photo taken on March 12, 2020 shows Bangladesh's first express highway on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Stringer/Xinhua)
A 55-km long express highway connecting Bangladesh's largest under construction Padma Bridge on the outskirts of capital Dhaka has opened to traffic.
The expressway, constructed by Chinese and local contractors, will ensure fast and smooth journey of millions of people in the country's southwestern region.
DHAKA, March 13 (Xinhua) -- A 55-km long express highway connecting Bangladesh's largest under construction Padma Bridge on the outskirts of capital Dhaka has opened to traffic.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the expressway having all the modern facilities through a video-conference from her official residence on Thursday in capital Dhaka.
The eight-lane expressway having four-lane main expressway with four service lanes for plying low speed vehicles connected the country's southwestern region with capital Dhaka.
It is aimed at ensuring fast and smooth journey of millions of people in the country's southwestern region.
Photo taken on March 12, 2020 shows Bangladesh's first express highway on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Stringer/Xinhua)
People from the country's 22 districts in southwestern region will be benefited directly from this expressway as two parts of which are set to be connected through the 6.15-kilometer long Padma Bridge, the core structure of which is now under construction by a Chinese firm.
The Bangladeshi government plans to open the bridge to traffic by June 2021.
A number of contractors from China, including China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and China Harbour Engineering Company and local big contractors constructed the expressway, one of the mega projects of the country.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina along with her cabinet members raise hands in prayer during the inaugural ceremony of the country's first express highway through a video conference from her official residence in Dhaka, Bangladesh, March 12, 2020. (PID/Handout via Xinhua)
"This is the country's first-ever access controlled expressway. The vehicles can straight go to destinations without any interruption as there will be no traffic signal and side lanes have been dedicated in it for movement of the local people using low speed vehicles," Hasina was quoted as saying in a report of national news agency BSS.
Experts say the expressway opened up a new era in the communication sector of Bangladesh on the eve of "Mujib Borsho (year), marking birth centenary of the country's founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Bangladesh has announced the commemoration of 2020-2021 as the Mujib Year on the occasion of the centennial birth anniversary of the founding leader of Bangladesh.
The year will be celebrated from March 17, 2020 to March 26, 2021.■
