Congested Dhaka to get $1.25 billion expressway

Bangladesh agreed Wednesday to build a $1.25 billion elevated expressway to ease crippling congestion in its capital in a deal with an Italian-Thai joint venture firm. The 26.5-kilometre (16-mile) road will connect Dhaka's northern suburbs with the city's south, transport ministry spokesman Abu Naser said.
Premchai Karnasuta, head of the Italian-Thai Development Company, and Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, a senior Bangladesh government official, signed the deal. The government has also announced plans to build six other flyovers, three of which are already under way, at a cost of more than 300 million dollars to connect with the new expressway.