Lesson 1/45 min
Roads, expressways and the tunnel
Roads: key facts
- 3 September 2014: the Ministry of Communications was renamed the ‘Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges’ (Khandokar's GK)
- The public road transport body is BRTC (Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation), founded 1961 (Zubair's GK)
Dhaka Elevated Expressway
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| What it is | Bangladesh's first elevated expressway; a PPP project |
| Route | From Kawla, south of Hazrat Shahjalal airport, via Kuril–Banani–Mohakhali–Tejgaon–Moghbazar–Kamalapur–Sayedabad–Jatrabari to Kutubkhali (Dhaka–Chattogram highway) |
| Builder and operator | First Dhaka Elevated Expressway Company Limited (FDEE) |
| Agreement | 19 January 2011 (with Italian-Thai Development Public Company) |
| ECNEC approval | 20 July 2011 |
| Foundation stone | 30 November 2011 |
| Construction launch | 16 August 2015 |
| Length | Main section 19.73 km; 31 ramps (27 km); 46.73 km with ramps; 4 lanes |
| Cost and regulator | Tk 8,940 crore; regulated by the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) |
| Opened to traffic | 2 September 2023: Kawla to Farmgate |
Watch out: The book gives the project period as July 2011–June 2024 and completion on 30 June 2024. On the web we could confirm only the first section (about 11.5 km) opened on 2 September 2023; when the whole route opened could not be verified.
Other elevated expressways
| Project | Detail |
|---|---|
| Chattogram Elevated (Mayor Mohiuddin Chowdhury Expressway) | The country's second elevated expressway; Lalkhan Bazar to Shah Amanat Airport; ECNEC 11 July 2017; work began 24 February 2019; inaugurated 14 November 2023; main section 16 km, 28.5 km with ramps, width 16.5 m; 4 lanes; run by the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA); built by Max-Rankon; government-funded |
| Dhaka–Ashulia Elevated | 24 km from Hazrat Shahjalal Airport to the EPZ; about 14 km of road below will be widened to four lanes; two flyovers at Nabinagar; about 18 km of drains on both sides (book) |
Watch out: Chattogram's expressway was inaugurated on 14 November 2023 but opened to the public on a trial basis only on 24 August 2024. The Dhaka–Ashulia project is still under construction: 2026 reports put its cost near Tk 27,046 crore with the deadline pushed back, and two service bridges opened on 2 September 2026.
BRT (Bus Rapid Transit): Gazipur–Airport
| Item | Detail (book) |
|---|---|
| Route | Gazipur–Hazrat Shahjalal Airport |
| Stations and length | 25 stations; 20.5 km |
| Support | Asian Development Bank and the French Development Agency |
Watch out: The book says the BRT ‘started in 2019’. We could not verify its current state on the web, so the year is left out of the lesson.
Karnaphuli Tunnel
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Earlier official name Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel; since 26 February 2025 ‘Karnaphuli Tunnel’ |
| What it is | South Asia's first underwater road tunnel; the ‘two towns, one city’ idea |
| Link | Both banks of the Karnaphuli: Patenga (north) and Anwara (south); part of the Dhaka–Chattogram–Cox's Bazar highway |
| Length | Tunnel part 3.32 km (3,400 m is also quoted) |
| Builder | China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC) |
| Work began | 24 February 2019 |
| Inaugurated | 28 October 2023 |
Watch out: One exam answer printed in Khandokar's GK gives 3.40 km, but the book's own text and the Chittagong University answer say 3.32 km, which the web also confirms. The book says ‘150 feet deep’; web sources give about 18–31 m below the riverbed, so no depth figure is used in the lesson or quiz.
Check yourself
Under which river was Bangladesh's first tunnel built?
At a glance
- 1
Dhaka Elevated Expressway: first elevated one, PPP; foundation 30 November 2011; main section 19.73 km; Kawla–Farmgate opened 2 September 2023.
- 2
Chattogram Elevated (Mayor Mohiuddin Chowdhury) is the country's second; inaugurated 14 November 2023; Lalkhan Bazar–Shah Amanat Airport.
- 3
Karnaphuli Tunnel: 3.32 km, inaugurated 28 October 2023, built by CCCC; named ‘Karnaphuli Tunnel’ in 2025.
- 4
The tunnel links Patenga and Anwara; the idea is ‘two towns, one city’.
- 5
In 2014 the Ministry of Communications became the ‘Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges’.