Mohiuddin Jewel, Chattogram
The work of setting up a railway line from Dohazari in Chattogram to Cox's Bazar is progressing rapidly. Sometimes there was some stagnation in Corona situation but now the work has gained momentum.
In the meantime, 61% work of the project has been completed, while a cost of about 18,034 core taka was allocated for this project.
The new railway is being added to the country's railway network by 2022. As a result, this will facilitate communication with the tourist city of Cox's Bazar and the deep-sea port under construction there.
After filling up the soil work in the construction of the railway, the work of setting up the line is going on now. The workers of this project, one of the priority projects of the government, are working every morning and evening. The implementation of the 101-km Dohazari-Cox's Bazar railway is now visible.
It was decided in 2010 to set up a 101-km railway line from Dohazari in Chattogram to Ramu and a 29-km railway line from Ramu to Ghumdhum. About eight years later, work on the project began in 2010.
A total of 1,391 acres of land was acquired for the project. Under the project, construction of 39 bridges, 145 culverts, 96 level crossings of different types, 9 stations including iconic station in Cox's Bazar has already progressed far.
According to the project and local sources, the government has taken initiative to implement the Dohazari-Cox's Bazar railway to establish easy connectivity with Cox's Bazar, the largest beach in the world.
Chinese contractors China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC), China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), Bangladesh's organization Toma Construction Company and Max Infrastructure Limited are involved with this project now.
When contacted, Saimum Sarwar Kamal, a local MP of Cox's Bazar-3, said, the railway project work is progressing fast. We hope that it will be completed by 2022.
``Through this, rail communication of the whole country will be established with Cox's Bazar, one of the tourist cities of the country,’’ he added.
Mofizur Rahman, director of the Dohazari-Cox's Bazar railway project, told Bangladesh Post that construction work on the 100-kilometer railway line from Dohazari was visible. ``As of this month, 61 percent of the work has already been completed. Due to Corona, the pace of work has slowed down for want of workers. But we are trying to keep working,’’ he added.
