Kalurghat Bridge's DPP ready

CHATTOGRAM, Dec 18: The Draft Development Project Proposal (DPP) of Tk 6,920 crore Kalurghat Bridge has been prepared by the  Korean Consultant.
The same consultant Yooshin Engineering Corporation earlier  submitted the feasibility report to the Director General of Bangladesh Railway (BR).
BR authorities held several meetings to consider the study report and the DPP.
Construction of the four-lane bridge with a single deck  on the Karnaphuli River, begins in January 2024 for completion in June 2028, said BR officials.
It would be the 3rd bridge on the Karnaphuli River.
The design will be submitted to the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) for approval.
According to previous plan, it was scheduled to be a two-tier Rail-cum-Road Bridge.
Later, the design was changed to make it a four-lane bridge with a single deck, two lanes for vehicular traffic and two for trains.
BR officials said that the government took the project to     facilitate  communication with Myanmar through Chattogram-Gundum Railway line.
In the past, the old Kalurghat Railway Bridge, now dilapidated,  provided the only link between the southern region of Chattogram division with the rest of the country.
The 239-metre steel-structure bridge, built in 1930 to link Janalihut with Gomdandi railway stations was commissioned in 1931.
It was used only for running trains between Chattogram and Dohazari.
In 1962, it was modified to make it a rail-cum- road bridge.