Dhaka’s plan to turn the Gabtoli-Postogola corridor into an eight-lane road has missed its June 2026 completion deadline, with only about 5km of the proposed 17km route currently under construction and the remaining sections stuck in planning, feasibility and approval processes.
The corridor is a key component of the proposed 88.8km inner circular ring road, which is intended to divert inter-district traffic away from central Dhaka and connect vehicles travelling from the Padma Bridge and southern districts with Savar, Uttara and Gazipur without entering the capital’s congested core.
However, years of delays over funding, approvals, feasibility studies, utility relocation and coordination among government agencies have left the wider project fragmented, with no clear timeline for completing the entire route.
Of the proposed 17km Gabtoli-Postogola corridor, only about 5km is currently under construction, while the remaining 12km is at different stages of feasibility assessment, planning and preparation.
5km moving, 12km uncertain
The Gabtoli-Postogola corridor is approximately 17km long. The 5km section from Rayerbazar Sluice Gate to Lohar Bridge in Kamrangirchar is being implemented by Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) under the “Development of Road from Rayerbazar Sluice Gate to Lohar Bridge of Inner Circular Ring Road” project.
The project was approved by ECNEC in late 2023 at an estimated cost of Tk974.59 crore and was originally scheduled for completion by June 2026.
The existing road, approximately 20 feet wide, is planned to be expanded to around 140 feet and developed as an eight-lane road, with four lanes for faster-moving traffic and four service lanes for local vehicles.
The project also includes three vehicular overpasses, three footbridges, six passenger shelters, six bus bays, footpaths, concrete drains, retaining walls and LED street lighting.
But the project has failed to meet its original deadline.
DSCC Project Director Engineer Mithun Chandra Shil told Dhaka Tribune that approximately 48% of the work under one of the two DSCC components has been completed.
“The other part has not yet started. Its drawing and design have been prepared, but work has not begun. The Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) is responsible for overseeing that part, and we have provided them with the necessary documents,” he said.
The remaining approximately 7km from Lohar Bridge to Postogola is still undergoing feasibility assessment.
The Gabtoli-Rayerbazar section has also not moved into full-scale construction, meaning there is currently no continuous stretch of the 17km corridor being developed.
A ring road without a ring
The institutional fragmentation surrounding the project is a major concern, according to urban planner Dr Adil Mohammad Khan, professor at Jahangirnagar University’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning and executive director of the Institute for Planning and Development (IPD).
“The inner circular road was proposed a long time ago, but unfortunately no integrated plan was ever taken for its construction,” he said.
According to Khan, different agencies have been developing different sections of the proposed ring road.
“Some portions are being handled by city corporations, some by the Roads and Highways Department and some by the Bridge Authority. This has created a patchwork approach to building a road,” he said.
As a result, there is uncertainty over which components should be implemented first, when the different sections will connect and when the entire ring road will become operational.
“The purpose of a ring road is to reduce intra-city movement and allow regional vehicles to bypass the city. For that, there should have been a central plan from the beginning, and every implementing agency should have worked under that plan,” Khan said.
RHD has no dedicated project director
The institutional uncertainty also extends to the Roads and Highways Department (RHD).
A source familiar with the RHD told Dhaka Tribune that there is currently no dedicated project director or designated official overseeing the department’s component of the inner ring road project.
Officials at relevant RHD offices were contacted for clarification but declined to provide a specific statement on the current status.
The source also said a proposal has been made to take the project through a fresh Development Project Proposal (DPP) process.
If the proposal moves forward, key components could once again have to go through a new planning and approval process, despite years of work already undertaken on the project.
Tk120 crore for utility relocation
Utility relocation has emerged as another major challenge.
On the 5km Rayerbazar-Lohar Bridge section alone, 565 electricity poles and eight towers need to be relocated.
Around Tk120 crore has been allocated for the relocation work involving Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC).
The scale of the relocation highlights the challenges of implementing major road projects in densely populated parts of Dhaka, where road widening also requires land acquisition, relocation of structures and shifting electricity, water, gas and telecommunications infrastructure.
Experts say such utility mapping and coordination should be completed before major urban road construction begins to prevent repeated work, cost escalation and prolonged disruption for residents.
Funding uncertainty adds to delays
The wider inner ring road project has also been affected by uncertainty over its financing model.
Government financing and public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements have been discussed at different stages, but a clear and stable financing structure has remained elusive.
Project proposals have also faced approval complications and changes in technical requirements.
According to project-related sources, these issues have contributed to the slow progress of different components of the proposed ring road.
The result is a major transport corridor that remains incomplete and disconnected, undermining the very purpose for which the inner circular road was conceived—to allow regional traffic to bypass central Dhaka and ease pressure on the capital’s already congested road network.