National Highway 8, Lifeline of Barishal Region’s Economy, in Dire Condition

Nasim Ul Alam

Initiative to Upgrade to Six Lanes Taken a Decade Ago, but No Visible Progress

The development of the Barishal-Bhanga and Barishal-Kuakata sections of National Highway 8 is closely linked to the socioeconomic well-being of the entire Barishal Division and uninterrupted road transport. Yet, the entire matter remains uncertain. Road connectivity between the southern region and the rest of the country depends heavily on this highway. Since the opening of the Padma Bridge, the number of vehicles has increased fivefold. Heavy container-laden vehicles from Payra Seaport, along with incessant rainfall, have left this “lifeline of the southern economy” in its most vulnerable condition ever.

For nearly 11 years, occasional initiatives have been taken to upgrade the existing National Highway 8 from Faridpur through Bhanga and Barishal to Payra Seaport and the Kuakata tourist centre into a six-lane highway, but no visible progress has been made. In 2018, a Tk 1,854-crore project was approved for land acquisition for the six-lane upgrade, with a completion deadline of June 2021. However, the work had still not been completed by June 2026.

The original land acquisition plan did not include construction of the Barishal bypass. It also did not provide for relocating the highway from its existing alignment near Barishal Airport or removing a school for children with disabilities.

Meanwhile, due to rising land prices over the past 11 years and the provision requiring affected landowners to be paid three times the value of their land, the Roads and Highways Department says around Tk 6,500 crore is now required for the necessary land acquisition. Informed sources, however, say the requirement has increased from Tk 1,854 crore to around Tk 6,500 crore because land for the Bhanga-Barishal-Faridpur and Barishal-Kuakata highways could not be acquired over the past eight years.

After the additional funding requirement was placed before the Planning Commission for approval, it was rejected during the tenure of the interim government. The authorities instructed that the six-lane project be limited to the section up to the Barishal-Patuakhali border within the Tk 1,854 crore allocated in 2018.

Between 2015 and 2017, the Asian Development Bank financed the feasibility study, route plan, cost estimates and preparation of tender documents for the project. However, due to various deficiencies, including the exclusion of the Barishal bypass, the Asian Development Bank advised around two years ago that a fresh feasibility study and route plan be prepared and a new project proposal be formulated. The Roads and Highways Department has not taken any further steps in light of that advice.

Even the extended deadline for land acquisition expired on June 30. So far, one land acquisition proposal each from the Barishal, Madaripur and Gopalganj road divisions has yet to be finalised. Progress in the Faridpur section is less than 50 per cent. However, responsible sources in the Roads and Highways Department said all land acquisition work from the Barishal-Patuakhali border to Bhanga is expected to be completed by the middle of the current fiscal year.

But even after land acquisition is completed, there has been no initiative to prepare a new Development Project Proforma (DPP) or route plan as advised by the Asian Development Bank. As a result, there has been virtually no progress on the main project.

According to responsible sources in the Roads and Highways Department, consultants will be appointed for these tasks once funding is secured. However, no one at the Roads and Highways Department knows when the consultants will be appointed, when their report will be received, when a donor will be secured and funding arranged, or when work on the main project will begin.

Meanwhile, responsible sources in the highway police and the Roads and Highways Department said traffic pressure from the Barishal divisional headquarters to Kuakata on the coast has increased at least fivefold since the opening of the Padma Bridge. In addition, the highway is increasingly deteriorating due to the transportation of huge cargo containers unloaded from Payra Seaport and daily transportation of containers carrying natural gas from Bhola to Dhaka.

According to several responsible sources in the Roads and Highways Department, speaking on condition of anonymity, at least Tk 50 crore is spent every year on maintaining and repairing the 92-kilometre highway between Bhanga and Barishal. Even with this expenditure, the 60-year-old highway can no longer be maintained to an acceptable standard.

Around Tk 100 crore is being spent in the last and current fiscal years on widening the Bhanga-Barishal section to 34 feet and carrying out overlay work. During the tenure of the interim government, the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges also showed extreme negligence toward the national highway, resulting in many urgent maintenance works not being completed on time.

As a result, what could have been addressed with timely intervention now requires much more extensive repair. This has increased costs and pushed the entire highway into its worst condition ever.

Nevertheless, the Roads and Highways Department hopes that once the highway is widened from the existing 24 feet to 34 feet and overlay work is completed within the current fiscal year, traffic movement will remain uninterrupted for at least five years.

Asked about the matter, Barishal Sadar MP and adviser to BNP Chairman Mujib Rahman Sarwar said upgrading the Barishal-Faridpur and Barishal-Kuakata national highways to six lanes was part of their election pledge.

He said that at a recent party organisational meeting, Prime Minister and BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman had also expressed his positive views on the issue. “We hope that, by securing donors as soon as possible, National Highway 8, the ‘lifeline of the southern economy’, can be upgraded to six lanes,” he said.