The Cost of Building Highways in Bangladesh is High

News Desk    |    ০১:৪৪ পিএম, ২০২৫-০১-০৮

The cost of constructing a four-lane highway in Bangladesh is over one hundred crore takas per kilometer or even more. Compared to neighboring India and other countries in Asia, the cost of building highways in Bangladesh is several times higher. As a result, Bangladesh has become one of the leading countries in the world in terms of highway construction costs.

Currently, four-lane construction projects are ongoing from Elenga to Rangpur and from Dhaka to Sylhet via Tamabil. The cost of upgrading the Elenga-Rangpur highway to four lanes is 100 crore takas per kilometer. The cost for the Dhaka-Sylhet-Tamabil highway is 115 crore takas per kilometer. For a section of the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar highway being turned into a four-lane road, the cost is 306 crore takas per kilometer.

Previously, to upgrade the highway from Dhaka, via the Padma Bridge, to Bhanga in Faridpur into four lanes, the cost was 200 crore takas per kilometer. These highways were originally two lanes, with two more being added. Additionally, two separate lanes were provided on each side for local traffic.

According to the white paper on the country’s economic situation, the cost of constructing a four-lane highway in Bangladesh during the previous Awami League government's tenure was 63.5 crore USD per kilometer, which is 4.4 times more than in India.

The white paper also highlighted the high costs associated with highway construction. It was submitted to Professor Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor of the interim government, on December 1. The committee responsible for drafting the white paper was led by prominent economist Debpriyo Bhattacharya.

The white paper shows that during the previous Awami League government’s tenure, the cost of constructing a four-lane highway in Bangladesh was 63.5 crore USD per kilometer, 4.4 times higher than in India. Bangladesh's construction costs were 2.15 times higher than in Pakistan and half of those in China. In Turkey, the cost of building a kilometer of road was nearly four times more than in Bangladesh.

From the 2009-10 fiscal year to the 2023-24 fiscal year, the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has implemented development projects worth 1 lakh 69 thousand 450 crore takas. These include both domestic funding and foreign loans, with most of the money spent on road and bridge construction.

Under the previous government, the cost of building all infrastructure was higher than in neighboring countries, including India. This was due to contractors being pre-selected, with costs and tender conditions set accordingly. Corruption and irregularities were the main reasons for the high expenditure.

Muhammad Fauzul Kabir Khan, advisor to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, stated that a study on corruption in RHD construction work was published by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on October 9. The report revealed that between 2009 and 2024, 23 to 40 percent of the allocated funds for RHD development projects were embezzled, amounting to 29,000 to 51,000 crore takas. TIB claimed this corruption resulted from a three-party collusion involving ministers, MPs, and influential politicians; bureaucrats and officials; and contractors.

Increased Costs in the SASEC-2 Project

The South Asian Subregional Economic Cooperation Corridor, known as SASEC, includes the four-lane project from Joydebpur in Gazipur to Elenga in Tangail under SASEC-1, which has already been completed. In 2016, a project to upgrade the 190 kilometers from Elenga to Rangpur was proposed. Initially, the project cost was estimated at 11,899 crore takas, about 63 crore takas per kilometer.

By 2019, the cost increased to 16,662 crore takas, and the completion date was extended to 2024. A special revision in 2023 raised the cost further to 18,679 crore takas. After a project proposal amendment on October 7, the cost reached 19,056 crore takas, extending the deadline to 2026. The cost per kilometer is now over 100 crore takas, with about 80 percent of the work completed.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing over 11,000 crore takas as a loan for the project. Delays in land acquisition, the COVID-19 pandemic, floods, and rising material costs have contributed to the increasing costs. However, sources from RHD claim that the cost increase was also due to additional elements like elevated roads, underground passages, and multiple design changes being added to the project.

From the 2009-10 fiscal year to the 2023-24 fiscal year, the Roads and Highways Department has implemented development projects totaling 1 lakh 69 thousand 450 crore takas, with much of the funding allocated to road and bridge construction.

The Elenga to Rangpur four-lane project has been divided into 11 sections, 9 of which involve road, bridge, and elevated road construction, while the remaining 2 involve the development of RHD’s laboratories and weight control centers. Chinese companies and some Bangladeshi firms are working together on the project.

Increased Costs in Specific Projects

RHD sources indicate that after contracting, contractors have increased costs by 18 to 46 percent for various sections, citing cost rises and project expansion. For instance, a 22-kilometer section in Bogura saw a cost increase of 46 percent, and another part saw a 42 percent rise in costs.

Most Expensive Road: The Cox’s Bazar Road

The Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar highway is 151 kilometers long, with 28 kilometers planned for a four-lane upgrade. The cost of this project, approved in October 2023, has been estimated at 8,556 crore takas, with an average cost of about 306 crore takas per kilometer. The government will contribute 2,847 crore takas, while the remaining 5,709 crore takas will come from a loan from Japan's International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The Most Expensive Expressway: Dhaka to Faridpur

The most expensive highway project in Bangladesh is the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Expressway, which runs from Dhaka to Bhanga in Faridpur. Initially, the cost of the 55-kilometer project was estimated at 6,252 crore takas in May 2016, but it later increased to 6,892 crore takas. Additional works were incorporated into the project, and a second phase of construction was approved in 2018, raising the total cost to 11,044 crore takas. This means the cost per kilometer is approximately 201 crore takas, up from an initial 114 crore takas.

Leading in Road Construction Costs

A comparative analysis in the white paper published in December 2023 shows that the cost of building a four-lane highway in Bangladesh is 63.5 crore USD per kilometer, compared to 39 crore USD in China, 14.5 crore USD in India, 29.5 crore USD in Pakistan, 21.5 crore USD in Indonesia, 11.5 crore USD in the Philippines, and 17 crore USD in Turkey.