Chinese power plant and infrastructure construction group POWERCHINA on Feb 25 signed an agreement to build and operate the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport's overpass highway in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, according to company officials.

Dignitaries attending the ceremony included Bangladesh Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader and Li Jiming, Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh.

The project is being funded, constructed and operated jointly by POWERCHINA, China Shandong International Economic & Technical Cooperation Group and Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited.

POWERCHINA signs the agreement for the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport's overpass highway on Feb 25. [Photo/POWERCHINA]

The overpass highway will be 20 kilometers in length with a ramp of 26.58 km. It is a four-lane highway that runs from the airport to Dhaka's old commercial district, connecting the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway.

As an elevated highway that runs through the central axis of Dhaka city center, on completion it will reduce the time from the airport to the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway junction from 2-3 hours to 20 minutes.

POWERCHINA officials said it will help alleviate the current extremely crowded traffic in Dhaka.

In addition, the overpass highway will play a significant role in promoting the rapid development of Dhaka's economy and building the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar economic corridor.