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CHATTOGRAM, Sept 7, 2025 (BSS) - At least 85 per cent of construction work on the 9.5 km-long Kalurghat-Chaktai 4-lane Marine Drive has been completed, Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) sources said.

Project Director Engr. Rajib Das told BSS that the embankment-cum-marine drive along the west bank of the Karnaphuli River, costing Taka 2,275 crore, is progressing rapidly. 

An 8 km stretch has been completed, with 1.5 km of land recently acquired from Kalurghat Industrial area to the Railway Bridge. CDA has compensated landowners to ensure smooth construction, he added. 

A four-kilometre walkway from Kalpolok at Chaktai to Bolirhat is expected to open by next December. 

CDA also plans a 5 km tourist zone along the riverbank in Bakalia, including a walkway from Shah Amanat Bridge to Bolirhat and a restaurant with entertainment facilities for children.

The embankment-road will be four lanes wide, 24.5 feet above sea level, and 80 feet wide, following JBIC guidelines and the 1995 Chattogram Metropolitan Master Plan. 

Twelve high-tide protection regulators and pump houses are being installed at canal mouths to drain rainwater efficiently, ten of which are already complete.

Construction began in June 2019 with the inauguration of a sluice gate at the Chaktai Canal estuary. The government has granted a one-year extension, setting the new completion date for June 2026. 

The project was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on April 25, 2017.