Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On August 11, 2014, Bangladesh's Ministry of Railways and China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co., Ltd. signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the construction of the Dhaka-Chittagong railway. The MoU was signed with the expectation that the 231.90 kilometer long double track and standard gauge Dhaka-Chittagong Railway would be funded by the Chinese Government. The new route would shorten the distance between the two cities by 90 kilometers and reduce the traveling time from four to three hours. The train was planned to run at 160 kilometers per hour and both haul passengers and cargo. The project was expected to take three years to complete after the start of implementation. The project was expected to cost $3.03 billion USD. In October 2016, the Chinese Government pledged to provide a loan for the project. However, it appears the loan was never formally committed to, and that the project fell through, as on May 31, 2018, a contract between the China Railway Design Group Ltd., Mazumder Enterprise, and Bangladesh Railways signed a contract for a feasibility study and detailed design for a high-speed railway between Dhaka-Chittagong.