Desk Report:

A total of seven flyovers under the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project have been inaugurated on Dhaka-Gazipur route to ensure smooth journeys for Eid-ul-Fitr holidaymakers.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader virtually inaugurated the structures, by connecting from his Secretariat today.

“With the opening of these seven flyovers ahead of Eid, we are offering a gift to the home-bound passengers from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” Quader said.

Particularly, the opening of the flyovers would make travelling easier and give relief to the home-bound passengers of greater Mymensingh area, he added.

The flyovers, opened to traffic on Sunday, are the Airport Flyover (Left Side), Airport Flyover (Right Side), Jasimuddin Flyover, U-Turn-1 Gazipura Flyover, U-Turn-2 Open University Flyover, Gazipur Bhogra Flyover and Gazipur Chowrasta Flyover.

After the Asian Development Bank’s preliminary feasibility study in 2011, the ECNEC approved the BRT project on Dec 1, 2012. The project was initially slated for completion in December 2016 at a projected cost of around Taka 20.4 billion.

However, the project saw several extensions and budget adjustments, leading to a final cost of over Taka 42.68 billion and a shortened route from Gazipur’s Chandna intersection to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

The BRT project aims to alleviate traffic congestion on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, allowing 25,000 passengers to travel through 100 articulated buses per hour.

Construction has involved three Chinese firms – China Gezhouba Group Corporation, Jiangsu Provincial Transportation Engineering Group, and Weihai International Economic and Technical Cooperative – alongside the local Cell-UDC company, responsible for building the BRT depot in Gazipur.