The long-awaited Purbachal Expressway will connect the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway with the capital. According to Rajuk, the capital development authority, the expressway will be ready to be inaugurated in the next 2-3 months. Billed as one of the most spectacular and attractive expressways in south and eastern Asia, it will connect Dhaka’s Progoti Swaroni and Airport Road to the Eastern Bypass. There will be no traffic signals on the 12.5-km long expressway, which will have upto 14 lanes. According to Rajuk, a 6.5-km stretch of the 12.5-km expressway, from the capital’s Kuril area to the Balu River, is being constructed with 14 lanes. Of these 14 lanes, eight will be part of the main expressway, while the remaining six lanes will be used as service roads for the movement of local vehicles. The 6-km stretch of the expressway from the Balu River to Kanchan Bridge will have 12 lanes - six forming the expressway, six as service roads. At present, 95 percent of the project is complete, said sources at Rajuk. Read More: RAJUK lauches work on deep tube wells for Purbachal New Town project  The cost of construction of the expressway has been estimated at Tk 764 crore. As part of the project, 10 large bridges will be built at an estimated cost of Tk 488 crore. The construction of the expressway from Kuril Bishwa Road to Kanchan Bridge is in the final stages. Currently the construction of drainage systems along the roads and canals is going on. In many places, dividers are being installed. The Bangladesh Army's 24 Engineer Construction Brigade is implementing the project. Meanwhile, Rajuk is currently digging 100-foot-wide canals on both sides of the Kuril-Purbachal Link road with the help of the Army, to preclude waterlogging. Rajuk Chairman Anisur Rahman Miah told UNB recently that most of this work is complete. Also read: Construction underway of iconic Bangabandhu Tri-Tower at Purbachal There will also be 13 arched bridges, like the ones in Hatirjheel, costing an estimated Tk 227 crore. Five at-grade intersections are being constructed so that vehicles in the adjacent areas can use the service lanes to get on the expressway at the same grade or elevation. A subway will be added to the expressway under each intersection, according to Rajuk. Besides, a four-kilometer drainage line for rain water, two culverts and 12 water bus stands will be constructed in the project area. In addition, the number of pedestrian-bridges has been increased from the four mentioned in the original project outline of 2015 to 12, the number of pump houses from one to five, and the number of sluice gates from four to ten. Read More: Iconic Purbachal CBD project launched “The entire project will be completed in a quick time," Anisur Rahman said. "Hopefully, it will be inaugurated within the next three months. Once complete, the road communication between the capital and Purbachal will be modernised. Rajuk and police will work jointly to provide adequate security on the roads.” Regarding the canal reclamation project, Anisur said: “Once there were three major canals - Dumni, Boalia, and AD-8 -that would drain the rainwater out of the Airport, Nikunja, Baridhara and surrounding areas. However, those canals are completely gone.” “We’re hoping to reclaim those canals with this project,” he added. The plan to dig and develop a 100-foot-wide canal on either side of the Kuril-Purbachal link road was approved at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on November 4, 2018. The Rajuk chairman hopes that the canals will help to solve the waterlogging problem in the Kuril, Baridhara, Nikunja and Airport areas during monsoon. Read More: Hasina unveils state-of-the-art exhibition centre in Purbachal The Rajuk chairman said that once all the work is complete, the area would also present 'the nearest tourist spot' to Dhaka. The estimated cost of the Purbachal Expressway project was originally Tk 5,287 crore, back in 2015. The addition of three additional canals, roads, bridges, and other elements described above have added an extra Tk 5,043 crore. The overall cost of the project has thus nearly doubled to Tk 10,330 crore.

Victoria Sporting Club will face Purbahal Parishad in the opening match of the six-team Cute Metropolis First Division Handball League Sunday at the Shaheed Captain M Mansur Ali National Handball Stadium in the capital. The match will kick off at 3:45pm. In the day's other matches, Old Ideals will play Satirtho Club and Star Sports will face Mansoor Sporting Club at the same venue.  State Minister for Youth and Sports M Zahid Ahsan Russell MP will inaugurate the league, organised by the Bangladesh Handball Federation (BHF) and sponsored by Mousumi Industries (Cute), in the afternoon. Also Read: Cute First Division Handball League begins Sunday BHF President AKM Nurul Fazal Bulbul and Mousumi Industries (Cute) Chairman Kazi Rajibuddin Ahmed Chapal will also be present.  The six participating teams of the league are Old Ideals, Victoria Sporting Club, Star Sports, Monsur Sporting Club, Purbachal Parishad and Satirtho Club.  

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the 27th edition of the ‘Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF)-2023’ tomorrow (Sunday) with the aim to put up locals products on the international markets. The largest annual commercial and trade event of the country is going to be held at its permanent venue – “Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre '' – at Purbachal on the outskirts of the capital for the second time. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the fair in person. Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi disclosed these at a press conference organised by the Commerce Ministry and the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) at the Friendship Exhibition Centre. Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh and EPB Vice Chairman AHM Ahsan, Additional Secretary of Commerce Md Hafizur Rahman and Additional Secretary (EPB) Md Abdur Rahim among others were present at the event. Minister Tipu said the quality of products gets standardised when customers can compare between local and foreign products through the fair. He said though the fair is not organised for profit, a spot export order of Tk 200 crore was received from the fair the past year. “We get a chance to put up our products before local and foreign customers through the fair. Though it is located a distance away which created a huge enthusiasm among sellers and buyers,” he said.     He said the country exceeded the target of exports last year and this trend is now upward.   Read more: Month-long DITF ends on Monday as no time extension was sought “Special initiatives were taken to boost up the export of 10 more products along with the apparel one,” the minister.   Terming the IT sector as prospering, he said some 4 to 5 million dollars were earned from this sector within a few days. Apart from this demand for light engineering products is increasing on the international market, he said.   This year a total of 331 stalls, including 17 pavilions have been leased out to various local and international organisations. Previously, it used to be held at Agargaon but it was too small to accommodate the large number of participants and visitors. The gate of the international trade fair will open at 10 am every day and close at 9 pm. On government holidays, the fair will run till 10pm. Ticket price for the adults has been fixed at Tk 40 while at Tk 20 for minors. Besides, visitors will get a 50 percent discount on tickets once they book from online. Read more: DITF 2020: Holiday draws large crowd The government will provide a transport facility as 70 BRTC buses have been pressed into service in this regard. These will run from Kuril flyover to the fair venue. Visitors will be able to travel in these buses with a minimum fare of Tk 35. The Dhaka International Trade Fair was first held in 1995. Due to Covid-19 pandemic, it was not possible to organise the fair in 2020. Traders from 10 countries are participating in the fair this year with 17 organisations.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday inaugurated the 26th edition of Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) declaring ICT products and services as the “products of the year 2022”.   The largest annual commercial and trade event of the country is being held at its permanent venue – “Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre '' – at Purbachal on the outskirts of the capital for the first time.   Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the fair virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban.   Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi presided over the function jointly organised by the Commerce Ministry and the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). READ: Dhaka International Trade Fair begins Saturday in Purbachal Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh and President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Md Jashim Uddin and Vice Chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) AHM Ahsan also spoke at the event.   This year a total of 225 stalls, including 23 pavilions, 27 mini pavilions, 160 stalls and 15 food stalls, have been leased out to various local and international organisations.   The venue will feature a prayer room, children's play area, office rooms, medical rooms, guestrooms for officials and store rooms.   Previously, it used to be held at Agargaon but it was too small to accommodate the large number of participants and visitors.   The gate of the international trade fair will open at 10 am every day and close at 9 pm. On government holidays, the fair will run till 10pm. Ticket price for the adults has been fixed at Tk 40 while at Tk 20 for minors.   The government will provide a transport facility as 30 BRTC buses have been pressed into service in this regard. These will run from Kuril flyover to the fair venue from 8am to 10pm every day. Visitors will be able to travel in these buses with a minimum fare of Tk 30.    

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Thursday said it may be necessary to set up a diplomatic zone in Purbachal due to land crisis in Gulshan and Baridhara areas.

Aiming to attract more foreign businesses and customers, the 26th edition of Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF)-2021 is going to be held in March this year at its newly built permanent venue, the Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre (BCFC) in Purbachal, instead of January at the previous venue in Agargaon in the capital.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has approved awarding two acres of land to the Agriculture Ministry for building a modern 'packhouse'- an establishment for packing agricultural produce- and an accreditation laboratory in Purbachal New Town, according to Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque.

Friday saw a huge turnout at the ongoing Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF), bringing some relief for the exhibitors but most visitors complained of unhealthy environment and poor management.

Dhaka, Oct 4 (UNB) – To cater to the growing demand for business spaces, a sprawling comprehensive commercial township is going to be developed in Purbachal new city area spending $8 billion.