GLOBALink | China-built elevated expressway opens to traffic in Bangladesh's Dhaka

DHAKA, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The First Dhaka Elevated Expressway, one of the country's major flagship infrastructure projects, partly opened to traffic on Sunday.

The 19.73-km expressway was jointly invested and built by two Chinese companies and a Thai company.

It runs from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, a major airport in Bangladesh, to Dhaka's central Kamalapur railway station before connecting with the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway, the main transportation artery in the country.

Speaking at the opening ceremony on Saturday, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called the expressway "a new milestone in Bangladesh's city mass transport system."

Upon completion, the expressway is expected to greatly alleviate traffic jams in Dhaka, improve the efficiency of public travel and stimulate economic development.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service