rhd newsletter lujy 2008 issue 1 · overseas training on construction engineering and asset...

9
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July 2008 Issue 1 Quarterly on Activities of Roads and Highways Department Inside this Issue 1 RHD Road Masterplan 3 Challenging Bridge Maintenance in RHD 4 CMS—An Effective Management Tool 5 Soil Improvement Techniques applied in RHD Construction RHD citizen Charter 6 Road Fund Seminar at RHD 7 RAMS Interactive GIS in RHD 8 Integrated Multimodal Transport Policy in the Offing Editor: Md. Afil Uddin Executive Engineer Bridge Construction and Maint Division-2 A-316, Sarak Bhaban, Ramna,Dhaka-1000 Phone: 9560597 Email: [email protected] URL:http://www.rhd.gov.bd RHD Road Masterplan: A Guiding Document for Future Investment RHD will soon have its Road Masterplan as the strategy document to guide its approaches and investments. The RHD Road Masterplan for Bangladesh, prepared under funding from the ADB project RNIMP2, is intended to be the guiding document for investment in the road sector over the next twenty years. The Road Masterplan has been compiled following a thorough diagnosis of the existing problems of the RHD road network, and the future challenges to be faced. The Road Masterplan can be summarised in three parts: The diagnosis of current and future problems. The proposed measures to address these problems. An investment programme. The main areas of recommendations within the RHD Road Masterplan are: Improving the strength of National Highways and Regional Roads: a five year programme to increase the under- lying strength of the network of major roads. Zila Road Recovery Programme. Aimed at providing basic paved conn- ectivity for all Upazilla headquarters: a construction programme followed by basic maintenance. . . . RHD NEWSLETTER Sustainability of RHD Systems Since 1994, RHD has been supported by the DFID-funded Institutional Development Component. Under the IDC programme, a broad range of technical and management procedures have been introduced at RHD. Most of these activities focused on making the process of planning maintenance more systematic and effective, by introducing at RHD data management and analytical systems such as HDM. The current phase of DFID’s support to RHD is through the “Transport Sector Management Reform” project (TSMR), since July 2006. At RHD, TSMR is focusing on two Bridges and Structures. A major pro- gramme of bridge replacement and repair. Axle Load Control. Improving roads will have little impact if there is no improved control on overloading. The Masterplan therefore includes a pro- gramme of providing more effective axle load controls. Improving the Operation of National Highways. Small and medium scale traffic management measures to improve the flow of traffic, including a few by-passes, but mainly small scale improvements such as junctions and service lanes. Road Safety. Focus on enforcement of existing laws, including an integrated pilot project on the N5 Dhaka – Aricha highway. Continued on Page 3 Continued on Page 8

Upload: others

Post on 14-Jul-2020

0 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: RHD Newsletter Lujy 2008 Issue 1 · Overseas Training on Construction Engineering and Asset Management ... in Chandigarh, India from 19 March to 21 March, 2008. The officers who

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

July 2008Issue 1

Quarterly on Activities of Roads and Highways Department

Inside this Issue

1 RHD Road Masterplan

3 Challenging Bridge Maintenance in RHD

4 CMS—An Effective Management Tool

5 Soil Improvement Techniques applied in RHD Construction RHD citizen Charter

6 Road Fund Seminar at RHD

7 RAMS Interactive GIS in RHD

8 Integrated Multimodal Transport Policy in the Offing

Editor: Md. Afil Uddin Executive Engineer Bridge Construction and Maint Division-2 A-316, Sarak Bhaban, Ramna,Dhaka-1000 Phone: 9560597 Email: [email protected] URL:http://www.rhd.gov.bd

RHD Road Masterplan: A Guiding Document for Future Investment RHD will soon have its Road Masterplan as the strategy document to guide its approaches and investments. The RHD Road Masterplan for Bangladesh, prepared under funding from the ADB project RNIMP2, is intended to be the guiding document for investment in the road sector over the next twenty years. The Road Masterplan has been compiled following a thorough diagnosis of the existing problems of the RHD road network, and the future challenges to be faced. The Road Masterplan can be summarised in three parts: • The diagnosis of current and future

problems. • The proposed measures to address

these problems. • An investment programme. The main areas of recommendations within the RHD Road Masterplan are: Improving the strength of National Highways and Regional Roads: a five year programme to increase the under-lying strength of the network of major roads. Zila Road Recovery Programme. Aimed at providing basic paved conn-ectivity for all Upazilla headquarters: a construction programme followed by basic maintenance.

.

.

.

RHD NEWSLETTER

Sustainability of RHD Systems Since 1994, RHD has been supported by the DFID-funded Institutional Development Component. Under the IDC programme, a broad range of technical and management procedures have been introduced at RHD. Most of these activities focused on making the process of planning maintenance more systematic and effective, by introducing at RHD data management and analytical systems such as HDM.

The current phase of DFID’s support to RHD is through the “Transport Sector Management Reform” project (TSMR), since July 2006.

At RHD, TSMR is focusing on two

Bridges and Structures. A major pro-gramme of bridge replacement and repair. Axle Load Control. Improving roads will have little impact if there is no improved control on overloading. The Masterplan therefore includes a pro-gramme of providing more effective axle load controls. Improving the Operation of National Highways. Small and medium scale traffic management measures to improve the flow of traffic, including a few by-passes, but mainly small scale improvements such as junctions and service lanes. Road Safety. Focus on enforcement of existing laws, including an integrated pilot project on the N5 Dhaka – Aricha highway.

Continued on Page 3

Continued on Page 8

Page 2: RHD Newsletter Lujy 2008 Issue 1 · Overseas Training on Construction Engineering and Asset Management ... in Chandigarh, India from 19 March to 21 March, 2008. The officers who

July 2008

2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mr Nihar Miah, Chief Engineer, RHD

Engr. Shyamal Kumar Bhattacharyya, Engr. Md. Sadequl Islam, Engr. Ziaul Haider, Engr. Muhammad Shahjahan (From Top and Left)

New Chief Engineer for RHD Md. Nihar Miah was appointed as the new Chief Engineer of the Roads and Highways Department on May 5, 2008. Nihar Miah has a vast experience of working in the road transportation sector, as he worked in different capacities in the RHD for last 32 years. Prior to this recent promotion to the position of the Chief Engineer, he had worked as the Additional Chief Engineer of the Chittagong Zone. He graduated in Civil Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 1975. In his personal life, Mr Miah is married and blessed with two sons and one daughter.

Overseas Training on Construction Engineering and Asset Management As a part of Continuing Professional Development (CPD), several RHD junior and mid-level officials recently participated in training programs and seminars on Construction Engineering and Asset Management. Engr. Sabuj Uddin Khan, SDE Planning-1, Dhaka attended a group training course on “Development and Application of Construction Engineering” in Japan

from 11 May to 28 June, 2008. Seven RHD officers attended “International Seminar on Road Asset Management” in Chandigarh, India from 19 March to 21 March, 2008. The officers who attended this seminar are: Syed Shahidun Nabi, Executive Engineer Planning-1; Asim Krishna Sajjan, SDE, Database; Shamima Nargis, SDE, Data Collection Division; Mohammed Russedul Islam, SDE, HDM Operation; Farhana Husna, AE, Database; Mohammad Bulbul Hossain, AE, Data Collection; and Sheikh Sohel Ahmed, AE, HDM Operation. It is expected that these programs will enhance the capacity of the RHD officials to better address the construction and asset management related issues in RHD.

RHD Training Centre trained 400 RHD Officials RHD Training Centre (RHDTC) has been busy recently running Training on Central Management System (CMS) for implementation of the Computerized Field Module. They conducted trainings for 27 batches totalling around 400 trainees, ranging from Superintending Engineers to Assistant Engineers to Divisional Accountants. This training provides the necessary skills for running the CMS module for effective financial management.

Besides, RHDTC provided training on AutoCAD for draftsmen and tracers, training on PC Maintenance for AEs and SDEs, and training of trainers on CMS Course for selected RHD officers to train future trainers for CMS.

RHD Engineers Awarded DFID Fellowship In its continuing effort to develop human resources, RHD sent four young officers for M.Phil. programme in the University of Birmingham in the UK in

January 2008 under the TSMR (CPLI) programme. The selected candidates are Engr. Shyamal Kumar Bhattacharyya, SDE, concentrating on Pavement Drainage Modeling, Engr. Md. Sadequl Islam, SDE, on Pavement Design Methodology in Bangladesh, Engr. Ziaul Haider, SDE, on Pavement Data Quality and Risk Modeling and Engr. Muhammad Shahjahan on Materials considered for Pavement Design. It is expected that the research works conducted by them will help RHD find appropriate technologies for pavement in Bangladesh.

Md. Saleh Uddin, Ex Chief Engineer, RHD Passed Away Md. Saleh Uddin Ahmed, Ex-Chief Engineer of RHD passed away on 30 January, 2008 at the age of 72 in a road accident at Gazipur. Sheikh Akmal Hossain, Ex-Executive Engineers of RHD passed away on 13 January, 2008 at Sikder Medical College. They left behind wives, sons, daughters and a host of relatives to mourn their death. RHD expresses deep sympathy to the family members of the bereaved.

Page 3: RHD Newsletter Lujy 2008 Issue 1 · Overseas Training on Construction Engineering and Asset Management ... in Chandigarh, India from 19 March to 21 March, 2008. The officers who

RHD Newsletter

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

essential management systems for RHD. The first is the RHD Road and Bridge Asset Management System or RAMS. This combines many of RHD’s existing systems and analytical procedures, into one coherent annual cycle of activities, to plan and deliver maintenance, including a formulation of budget requirements.

The second system is the Central Management System (CMS). CMS is now considered an essential component in all financial and progress reporting, for both maint-enance and development projects.

The TSMR contract will end in March 2009. All IT-based manage-ment information systems, databases and websites will from then on need to be maintained by RHD’s own resources. Where RHD does not have the right expertise available, RHD needs outsourcing from local experts.

Travel to Kuakata Becomes Easier The construction of Dapdapia Bridge over the river Kirtonkhola adjacent to Barisal Metropolitan City is progressing fast to facilitate an unhindered access to Kuakata Beach–one of the rare places offering the unique beauty of the full view of the rising and setting of the crimson sun in the water of the Bay of Bengal. This exclusive tourist zone now can only be visited by crossing a number of rivers and waterways using ferries that cause interruption to journey. The construction of this 1,660 metre-long bridge at a cost of BDT 2,168 million will provide a direct link with the south and southwest zone of the country, cutting the travel time

significantly. The physical progress of the bridge to date has been 46 percent against a completion target in October 2009.

The physical work of the project comprises of the construction of 1,390m long bridge with 5km access road including construction of a 270m long secondary bridge on Khairabad River on the access road. This bridge will replace two major ferry-crossings on Kirton-khola River, one on the Barisal-Patuakhali road and the other on the Barisal-Bhola road.

Challenging Bridge Maintenance in RHD Roads and Highways Department recently successfully completed replacement of worn out expansion joints of the Daudkandi Bridge. Built in 1995, the Meghna-Gumti Bridge, commonly known as Daudkandi Bridge, is the 3rd longest bridge in Bangladesh and unique in its type. This 1,410m long bridge is composed of 15 numbers of 87.0m main spans. There are 15 expansion joints (mat rubber type) over

hinge joints and 2 expansion joints over both abutments. Generally, expansion joints of a bridge require regular replacement in 10-15 years interval, because these joints are directly exposed to repeated intensive wheel loads. With the passage of time, the expansion joints of Daudkandi Bridge got deteriorated, affecting smooth movement of traffic over the bridge. RHD therefore started the replacement work on May 15 and complete at the end of June. Since the work required partial breaking of existing concrete around the expansion joints including arrangement of reinforcement bars, re-concreting and installation of new expansion joints, RHD imposed a ban on traffic movement on one side alternately during the entire work period and closed the bridge for at least 14 hrs during concrete casting and curing. The work went on smoothly and unhindered traffic was restored as soon as the maintenance work was completed.

JBIC Assists Bridge Improvement Project RHD is going to take up a project to rehabilitate its old, narrow, damaged and temporary bridges on National and Regional Highways in the eastern part of Bangladesh. The project, to be financed by JBIC, is now being considered by the Planning Commission for inclusion in the Annual Develop-ment Programme of the next year. This project includes 68 bridges, having a length of 30m or above each with a combined length of 4,118m, for rehabilitation at a cost of BDT 5,862 million from JBIC funds, and 74 bridges, having a length of less than 30m each with a combined length of 1,480m, at a cost of BDT 1,872 million from GoB funds. The bridges are located in 12 selected National and Regional Highways in Dhaka, Chittagong, Comilla and Sylhet Zone. The feasibility study of the project was conducted by SAPROF (Special Assistance for Project Formulation) team in 2007. The work is expected to commence in 2010 and be finished in 2012.

Sustainability From Pg 1

Maintenance Work of Daudkandi Bridge

Construction work of Dapdapia Bridge is progressing fact

Page 4: RHD Newsletter Lujy 2008 Issue 1 · Overseas Training on Construction Engineering and Asset Management ... in Chandigarh, India from 19 March to 21 March, 2008. The officers who

July 2008

4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CMS - an Effective Management tool

“CMS is a very effective and integral tool for RHD for its management and monitoring”—Engr. Delwar Hossain Khan Superintending Engineer (Retired.)

The Central Management System (CMS) was introduced at RHD during 2004. It now forms part of the daily routine at RHD, making life easier with contract preparation, monitoring and management. CMS has been hailed as a world-class system by external observers such as the World Bank, and as one of the most prominent examples of e-governance in Bangladesh.

The main objective of CMS was to make it possible to monitor the progress of all RHD projects by contract, for both maintenance and development projects. The new approach of CMS was to report not only the financial progress (amount of funds spent) but also the physical progress: the amount of work actually delivered.

At the basis of recording physical progress is the principle of “earned value analysis”, in which the value of the work completed is compared with the plan and the budget. The value of the work done is based on field records: a monthly summary of data from the RHD Measurement Book. Measure-ments should be entered every month, even if no payment is planned or if there has been little progress.

Using CMS, RHD officers can quickly prepare cost estimates and tender documentation easily and automatically,

minimising administrative effort and reducing the chance of mistakes. All relevant standard tender documents are built into CMS, and only project specific data need to be entered.

From July 2005, CMS became compulsory for the reporting of all divisional accounts. Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs) can only be issued through CMS.

Many features have been added over the years, often at the request of RHD users. Others have emerged as a result of suggestions from external users and evaluators, such as MoC, IMED, World Bank and auditors.

During the months of May and June 2008, a new version of CMS has been installed throughout all RHD offices. Additional features now allow recording the dates for essential contract milestones, such as Notice to Commence, Final Measurement and Actual Completion. In addition, CMS contract records require confirmation of the issue of certificates, such as Test Certificates, Completion Certificate and and Final Payment Certificate.

CMS includes a star rating, as an indication of the relative performance of individual divisions. The background behind these Performance Indicators is explained in a separate section of the CMS site.

The CMS Working Group has been at the centre of guiding the use, application and further development of CMS. The Working Group is headed by ACE Mr Md Aftab Uddin, and has representation from MIS, Monitoring Circle, Maintenance Circle and Plann-ing & Programming Circle.

For those who experience problems with any aspect of CMS, a Support Centre is available for any RHD Officer. The Support Centre can be reached by phone (9565673, 9557757, ext 111; mobile 01718 310771; 01716 855451) or email ([email protected]).

Kaliakoir Bypass: Ground Improvement The construction of embankment of Kaliakoir Bypass, an important part of Jamuna Bridge Access Road Project, was abandoned due to the presence of unsuitable soil extending up to the depth of about 8m to 13m from the existing ground surface on the project site. The construction problem was addressed using ground improvement technique. The total improvement area of the bypass road was divided into four segments and only preloading was used for the two sections and preloading with pre-fabricated vertical drain was used for other two sections. Due to preloading, vertical stress increased on the soft organic soil that resulted in increasing pore water pressure. The water particle then tends to come out through shorter paths. Prefabricated Vertical Drain (PVD) was used to meet the demand of reducing the distance of water removal path. PVD was placed at a distance of 1.0m c/c in both directions at a depth of 8.5m to 13.5m depending on the soil condition. Water rises through inner corrugated part of PDV from higher potential energy at bottom to lower potential energy at top. Drainage layer was used to facilitate the drain out water from the embankment area. A geo-textile was used as separator of the existing soft soil and the drainage layer. Geo-grid was also used on the embankment to reduce the risk of slope stability failure. A three-stage embankment fills and a total 14-month surcharge period for consolidation settlement was used above the drainage layer. The maximum settlement due to water removal was recorded about 1.5m at the project site.

Ground Improvement work at Kaliakoir Bypass

Page 5: RHD Newsletter Lujy 2008 Issue 1 · Overseas Training on Construction Engineering and Asset Management ... in Chandigarh, India from 19 March to 21 March, 2008. The officers who

RHD Newsletter

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

KFAED Funded Three Bridge Project: Progressing Fast The construction works of the Three Bridge Projects are progressing fast with the assistance of KFAED. The project includes construction of three bridges, namely 3rd Buriganga Bridge, 2nd Sitalakhya Bridge and Teesta Bridge.

3rd Buriganga Bridge. In order to facilitate the growth and Development of Dhaka city towards west and southwest, there is a need for expansion of Dhaka City beyond the surrounding rivers. The location of Dhaka city is such that it is surrounded by several rivers like Buriganga, Turag, Balu etc. Because of inadequate river crossing facilities across the major rivers around Dhaka City the physical expansions are hampered. The 3rd Buriganga Bridge at Basila having a total length of 708m at a cost of BDT 891.1 million will pave the way for expansion of Dhaka City.

2nd Sitalakhya Bridge. Dhaka Chittagong Highway is the most important corridor of Bangladesh. It crosses the river Sitalakhya at Demra on the east of Dhaka city connecting eastern half of the country comprising a large number of district on the east and southeast of Bangladesh. At present there is only one bridge on Sitalakhya River, which is used by the traffic to Sylhet also. The 2nd Sitalakhya Bridge at Demra having a length of 107m at a cost of BDT 762.8 million will create an

alternate route to enter Dhaka city from the districts of east and southeast region of Bangladesh. As a result the traffic congestion at Jatrabari will be reduced greatly.

Teesta Bridge. The Teesta Bridge over river Teesta having a length of 750m at a cost of BDT 996.3 million is expected to relieve the existing overburdened Teesta

Railway Bridge and uplift the socio economic condition of kurigram and Lalmononirhat. This Bridge will also facilitate international trade from India through Burimari Land Port.

The construction works of the bridges started in August 2006 is expected to complete in August 2009.

RHD Citizen Charter In order to improve public services, the Roads and Highways Department has recently documented a citizen charter. This is expected to make RHD administration more accountable and citizen friendly, ensuring transparency and the right to information of citizens. This charter has identified ten areas of service delivery and clearly spelled out how RHD is going to fulfill its commitment to its stakeholders. The areas are: (i) leasing RHD land, (ii) testing of materials at RHD laboratory, (iii) leasing out equipment of RHD laboratory, (iv) leasing out vehicles and equipment, (v) information on district-wise toll bridges, (vi) information on district-wise toll roads, (vii) ferry services, (viii) RHD training centre, (ix) RHD administration and establishment, and (x) emergency telephone numbers.

This citizen charter stipulates maximum allowable time for resolving an issue at different levels. This is expected to ensure timely delivery of services, making RHD officials more account-able. The successful implementation of this citizen charter depends on the strong commitment of RHD personnel at all levels.

New Schedule of Rates in RHD RHD is the biggest developer of Roads and bridges in Bangladesh. Huge amount of money is spent every year to build new roads and bridge as well as on rehabilitation and maintenance of existing road and bridges. Most works under RHD is carried out based on item rate contract basis to ensure transparent and competitive bidding. The price of different items has been derived from the cost of primary materials, equipment and manpower. Recently the price of some construction materials increased abruptly, especially the cost of steel and steel products. The cost of mild steel reinforcement, which is the prime construction material for RCC works, goes beyond the capacity of the user, retarding the RCC construction work. The contractor of civil works in different government and autonomous bodies become reluctant to implement RCC works without any assurance from the employer about the compensation of additional costs due to price hike of the materials. As per conditions of contract of award based on PPR, there is no scope for price adjustment for any change in market price of materials and lobor. However, in order to adjust the rate of items with the market price of material and labor, RHD has taken up necessary measures to update the existing rates of schedule. Accordingly the market price of materials, labor and equipment has been collected and the new schedule of rate has been prepared which is now available at RHD website.

It may be mentioned that in response to the tremendous price hike in different construction material and constant demand of the contractors, government started thinking about the real life problems in construction sector. Realizing the reality, Government has decided to provide compensation to the contractor for additional costs of material. Accordingly a government cir-cular has been issued in this regard.

Construction of 3rd Buriganga Bridge Progressing

Page 6: RHD Newsletter Lujy 2008 Issue 1 · Overseas Training on Construction Engineering and Asset Management ... in Chandigarh, India from 19 March to 21 March, 2008. The officers who

July 2008

6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Communication

Capacity Strengthening

Dissemination Knowledge Management

Signposting

Activities

Road Fund Seminar Held at Sarak Bhaban Road Funds have emerged as one of the more popular forms of financing road sector maintenance funding gaps in the South Asia Region. It is widely accepted that roads play an important role in economic development, and help reduce poverty. However, the roads in many countries are poorly maintained. In the face of the dwindling funds for road maintenance, many countries in the world have created Road Fund to ensure

adequate flow of funds for maintenance. Bangladesh is also considering a Road Fund to ensure effective maintenance of the road network. A Road Fund Establishment Office (RFEO) was established in March 2005 to draft legislation and operational policies and procedures to make the proposed Board functional. For that purpose, the Road Fund Establishment Office is working towards setting an operational frame-work. A workshop was organized on 7 May, with 120 seniors RHD officers present, to discuss the relationship between a Road Fund Board and RHD, and the Road Fund operating proce-dures. Additional Secretary MOC was the Chief Guest. Chief Engineer, RHD, Additional Chief Engineer, Super-intending Engineers and Executive engineers were present. Dr Sion Haworth, Dr M. Rahmatullah, Mr Allan

Kennaird and Mr M Shawkat Ali Khan were present from RFEO. The workshop concluded that road fund is extremely necessary for RHD roads. The Seminar was useful to enable RHD officials understand the proposed oper-ating modalities of Road Fund.

gTKP for better

Transport Knowledge Sharing The Global Transport Knowledge Partnership (gTKP) is an innovative partnership approach to making more effective use of available transport knowledge and encouraging greater participation from developing and transition countries. How gTKP works? The gTKP uses technology and partnership working to improve in-country practitioners access to existing transport knowledge and good practice, so that they can improve the quality and efficiency of transport infrastructure and services. It also creates a global network of experts, practitioners and suppliers, providing opportunities for debate and consensus building on priorities for transport research delivery. This long-term capacity buil-ding will deliver more effective approaches to tackling universal transport issues – such as funding and maintenance, providing access to remote areas, supporting trade, and minimizing environmental impacts – and support the achievement of Millennium Development Goals.

GTKP provides a “one-stop shop” for transport knowledge through a website, partnership building and knowledge sharing work undertaken by partners, sector experts and the gTKP Manage-ment Group. The details of gTKP can be found at www.gtkp.com. Member’s Benefit. In our country the officials of MoC, RHD, BRTA, LGED etc who are linked with the transport sector and who want to explore in-depth knowledge in transport sector could log on in the website of gTKP for further develop-ment. The educational institutions like BUET, Private universities could also be beneficiary from this website. How to Register? One can register by clicking on the “Register here” button (on the gTKP website) in the “Log on” box on the right hand section of the site. Once one has completed either the Basic or Advanced Registration form one can

submit it to gTKP for approval. Registration allows one to submit resources, events, news and organiza-tions to gTKP, which can then be included on the site. It also means that one can be kept informed of forth-coming events and receive newsletters from gTKP.

Road Maintenance is critically important for an efficient transport network.

Page 7: RHD Newsletter Lujy 2008 Issue 1 · Overseas Training on Construction Engineering and Asset Management ... in Chandigarh, India from 19 March to 21 March, 2008. The officers who

RHD Newsletter

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Kaliakoir Bypass inaugurated Kaliakoir bypass, an important part of the Jamuna Bridge Access Roads Project, was inaugurated and opened to traffic on 16 June 2008. Major General (Rtd.) Ghulam Quader, Advior, Ministry of Communications, unveils the inauguration stones laid at two ends of the bypass in presence of HE Mr. Inoue, the Honourable Ambassador of Japan in Bangladesh; Mr. Fujita, Head of JBIC in Dhaka; Dr. Mahbubur Rahman, Secretary, Ministry of Communications, GOB; Mr. Nihar Miah, the Chief Engineer, RHD; Mr. Firoz Khan Noon, the Project Director were present. High officials of MoC, RHD and JBIC, local officials, consultants and contractor’s represen-tative, and local people were also present in the inauguration ceremony. The construction of the embankment of Kaliakoir Bypass was abandoned due to the presence of unsuitable soil, which was later addressed using ground improvement techniques. The physical work of this contract was commenced in March 2006 and completed in June 2008.

RAMS Interactive GIS

RAMS maps are being introduced in an attempt to move the project selection

process out to the wider group of important stakeholders. The RAMS maps are targeted at decision makers in government and at interested groups in the constituencies, as well as bureau-crats and technicians in government who may have difficulty understanding three defining parameters of location, treatment type and quality. To avoid this difficulty in selection process, RAMS maps can assist for selecting appropriate road sections or bridges for the work programmes. RAMS Interactive GIS is a desktop GIS

program capable of preparing custom-made maps, using the base map and the information stored in the RHD databases. Any data can be interactively coupled with the GIS road features and RHD databases, and displayed on screen or as a printed map. The same program can be used to view other custom-made GIS maps. A set of standard GIS functions and tools are part of this interactive GIS. Application of RHD standard symbols for RHD roads and bridges, legend, map layout, and feature-labeling options are part of the program. The program and its tools are designed to be used by people with only limited GIS experience. This interactive GIS program can serve as a decision support tool at all levels of RHD road management activities. It enables engineers to use GIS maps and data more readily. Users do not need to come to GIS unit for any mapping requirements, as they can produce maps from their own desk computers. Ten licenses of this interactive GIS program are installed on the computers of selected RHD officers connected with the Local Area Network in RHD at Sarak Bhaban. Some of these workstations are for general access, in the HDM Circle.

Major General Ghulam Quader (Retd), Advisor to the Ministry of Communications, inaugurates Kaliakoir Bypass

Page 8: RHD Newsletter Lujy 2008 Issue 1 · Overseas Training on Construction Engineering and Asset Management ... in Chandigarh, India from 19 March to 21 March, 2008. The officers who

July 2008

8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Environmental and Social Issues.Recommendations to adopt and imp-lement social and environmental codesto mitigate the worst effects of roadconstruction.

Traffic Growth. A series of specificprojects required to cope withforecasted traffic growth. Maintenance. Detailed rational planfor improved maintenance, startingwith more reliable funding for routinemaintenance, and periodic maint-enance. Bridge maintenance isrecognized as requiring specificconsideration. Financing. Recommendations aremade to consider a unified budgetstructure, as the distinction betweenrevenue and development funding islosing its significance. Institutional. Recommendation toconsider new relationships betweenGovernment and the agency respon-sible for developing and managingroad assets. The report was completed in April2007. The findings have been agreedby the MoC, after a series of meetingsbetween RHD and MoC. The Plann-ing Commission has formally endorsedthe plan, following a presentation inDecember 2007. The RHD RoadMasterplan was presented to a broaderaudience at a seminar on 13 March2008, an event chaired by AdvisorCommunications. The observations from this seminar were incorporated inthe final edition of the Masterplan, inApril 2008. This is now with the MoCfor formal approval. Once agreed bythe Advisor, MoC, the RHD RoadMasterplan will be circulated to allRHD officers.

Presentation on draft IMTP. Advisor, the Ministry of Communications, Secretary, MOC; Chief Engineer, RHD were present

Integrated Multimodal Transport Policy in the Offing A new integrated transport policy is expected to be approved soon by Government.

Following the acceptance of the Natio-nal Land Transport Policy (NLTP) in April 2004, Government had instructed the formulation of an “Integrated Multimodal Transport Policy” or IMTP as well.

Preparatory discussions within govern-ment and private sector stakeholders took place between 2004 and 2006. An advanced draft of the IMTP

incorporating some initial comments by the Council of Advisers. On 23 June 2008, this draft policy was presented at a major seminar, with the Adviser MoC as the Chief Guest.

The overall objective of the IMTP is to reduce transport cost and improving efficiency of transport spending, the IMTP. It is expected to bring a major policy shift away from continued investment in the road sector, to dev-eloping the railway network and improving its level of service, and to

reviving the inland water transport sector. At the same time, high priority is given to maintaining and managing the nation's transport infrastructure that is already built. Taken together, future public and private investment should represent an increase in resources for transport.

Additional objectives of the IMTP are to improve export competitiveness through lower transport costs; improve safety; take advantage of Bangladesh’s geographical position to trade in transport services.

The policy also aims to reduce the worst environmental effects of transport; to ensure that transport meets social needs

– in terms of its cost and accessibility to all sectors of society; and to use transport as means to assist poverty reduction.

Other features of the IMTP are an emphasis on greater private sector participation and innovative funding mechanisms including road user charges; greater use of traffic manage-ment; ensuring physical and operational integration between different modes of transport; and establishing a rational regulatory and coordinating framework.

Masterplan From Pg 1

Page 9: RHD Newsletter Lujy 2008 Issue 1 · Overseas Training on Construction Engineering and Asset Management ... in Chandigarh, India from 19 March to 21 March, 2008. The officers who

RHD Newsletter

RHD Newsletter 9