Tk10,570cr rail link, Tk2,000cr city projects planned for Bogura

The government has planned a Tk10,570 crore railway line, a Tk1,000 crore sports village and nearly Tk2,000 crore for infrastructure development in Bogura City Corporation, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam said on Thursday.

The projects aim to turn Bogura into an industrial, communications and economic hub, he said at a discussion titled “Development Prospects and Challenges of Bogura, the Heart of the Northern Region”, organised by Bangladesh Pratidin at Hotel Momo Inn in Bogura. Bangladesh Pratidin Editor Loton Ekram chaired the programme.

The Bogura-Sirajganj railway line would improve connectivity across the northern region and boost economic activity, he said. Work on a multimodal airport had reached its final stage, improving domestic and international connectivity.

To ease congestion, the government plans to build a four-lane road along the Karatoa River and widen major city highways from four to six lanes. It has released Tk70 crore for initial development and congestion-reduction work, he said.

The Arafat Rahman Koko Para Sports Village would be developed at an estimated cost of Tk1,000 crore. The government has allocated Tk1,994 crore for city corporation infrastructure and plans to invest Tk3,500 crore in sustainable development across the district’s 13 upazilas and Tk2,000 crore in municipal infrastructure.

Processes to establish Bogura WASA and the Bogura Development Authority are nearing completion, the minister said. Work on a BSCIC industrial park will begin soon, while allocations for upazila dak bungalows and healthcare infrastructure have been increased.

Modern 151-bed hospitals are planned in all 13 upazilas, and Bogura University will be developed into a multidisciplinary higher education centre to promote research.

Shahe Alam said Bogura generates an annual food surplus worth around Tk3,500 crore but had been deprived of adequate infrastructure development for two decades. The government, which had been in office for seven months, was implementing a master plan to make the district modern and prosperous, he said.

He said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman attached equal importance to all regions, citing allocations of Tk1,800 crore for Rangpur City Corporation and Tk1,700 crore for Gopalganj. Development was not intended for any particular district, he added.

Additional Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Atikur Rahman Ruman, Bogura-6 MP Rezaul Karim Badsha, Bogura-3 MP Abdul Muhit Talukder, Press Institute Bangladesh Director General Faruk Wasif, Bogura Deputy Commissioner Toufikur Rahman and Superintendent of Police Mirza Sayem Mahmud, among others, addressed the discussion.