Roads and Highways Department

The biggest issue facing the Roads and Highways Department is the persistent delay in project implementation caused by complex land acquisition processes and the inability to fully utilize allocated development funds.

RHD established in 1962 when the colonial-era Construction & Building organisation was split into RHD and Public Works Department. Road network figures from the official RHD website: 20,866.36 km as of the most recent AtGlance page (up from 2,500 km at establishment). Sanctioned staff: 9,331 posts (573 Class I, 773 Class II, 4,759 Class III, 3,226 Class IV) per RHD Overview page; the 9,369 figure cited in some secondary sources appears to be a slightly older snapshot. current_head set to null: AKM Manir Hossain Pathan was confirmed as Chief Engineer in February 2022 (Financial Express, Dhaka Tribune); a subsequent appointment (Ishaque) was reported in December 2022; further reshuffles likely followed the August 2024 interim government and the February 2026 BNP election; the RHD chief engineer profile page (https://www.rhd.gov.bd/VVIPProfile/chiefengineer.asp) was not accessible in search results, and no 2025-2026 appointment announcement was found in public media at verification date. Reporting agents should check rhd.gov.bd directly before populating this field. annual_budget_bdt omitted: RHD's standalone ADP allocation is not disaggregated from the RTHD Tk 32,329.57 crore envelope in publicly accessible budget documents; the parent file (road-transport-and-highways-division.json) carries the division-level figure. TIB 2024 report: executive summary PDF published October 2024 at ti-bangladesh.org; figure range Tk 29,230-50,835 crore represents low-end and high-end corruption loss estimates over FY2009-10 to FY2023-24; 23-40% corruption rate applies to total RHD construction contract values. BRT Line-3: ADB and AFD jointly financed; original cost Tk 2,039.84 crore in 2012; current estimate Tk 6,597.32 crore (4th revision proposed, 223% overrun); physical completion 97.69% for RHD scope (16 km road + 6 flyovers + 25 stations + 2 terminals). Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway: Tk 17,553.04 crore; China Exim Bank loan Tk 9,692 crore; contractor China National Machinery Export Import Corporation (CMC); 58% complete per TBS report of 11 May 2026. Dhaka Bypass Expressway: implemented under PPP by Sichuan Road & Bridge (Group) Co. Ltd; 48 km total; first 18 km (Bhogra Bypass, Gazipur to Madanpur) inaugurated 24-25 August 2025. Verification based on 2+ primary sources for all material claims.