China’s 427-kilometre Yibin–Panzhihua Expressway, with almost 90 percent of it elevated, opened fully in 2026 across Sichuan province. The project forced engineers through deep valleys and mountain bores that made it one of the country’s costliest road developments at BDT 3.65 billion (200 million yuan) per kilometre.

Malaysia’s Damansara–Shah Alam Elevated Expressway (DASH) reached BDT 6.30 billion per kilometre, incorporating advanced traffic control systems, solar generation, rainwater harvesting, noise barriers, a multi-lane free-flow tolling system and 13 interchanges.

The Dwarka Expressway, India’s first eight-lane elevated highway, cost roughly BDT 3.20 billion (2.50 billion rupees) per kilometre, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. One of the project’s defining features is its direct link to the airport. To provide that connection, engineers built a 3.6-kilometre-long eight-lane tunnel — one of the country’s widest urban subterranean links.

Bangladesh’s inaugural Dhaka Elevated Expressway is progressing under a public-private partnership, while the 24-kilometre Dhaka–Ashulia Elevated Expressway relies on foreign debt. The Dhaka–Ashulia project stands among the world’s most expensive elevated highways by unit length, with total outlay hitting BDT 270.46 billion — or BDT 11.27 billion per kilometre. While its DPP was approved in 2017, construction began only after Dhaka secured a commercial loan agreement with Beijing in mid-2022.

Elsewhere in the region, Sri Lanka’s Port Access Elevated Highway costs BDT 8.37 billion per kilometre. Indonesia, meanwhile, built the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Skyway for BDT 3.90 billion per kilometre, and Thailand’s Rama 3 Expressway reached BDT 6.12 billion per kilometre. All three match the technical specifications of the Chinese and Malaysian expressways.

The Dhaka–Ashulia scheme encompasses 24 kilometres of main elevated structure, roughly 11 kilometres of access ramps, a two-lane flyover at Nabinagar, a trumpet interchange at Baipail, 14 kilometres of at-grade road reconstruction, a two-lane bridge, auxiliary overpasses, upgraded drainage, utility corridors and toll plazas.

Transport analysts contend that despite its globally elite price tag, the project’s infrastructure yields fall well short of international benchmarks. Shamsul Hoque, professor of civil engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), noted that national mega-projects frequently incur costs far above global standards without delivering corresponding engineering quality, environmental protections or structural longevity.

“Developed and emerging economies integrate environmental compliance, climate resilience and expansion capacity directly into infrastructure budgets. Bangladesh, by contrast, carries out environmental impact assessments without enforcing them during construction. The result is infrastructure that absorbs vast sums of public money yet still falls well short of international standards,” Hoque told Bonik Barta.

Drawing parallels with the Dhaka Metro Rail, Hoque said: “Many of the world’s modern metro systems embed scalable capacity, energy efficiency and multimodal integration at design stage. Bangladesh has given far less weight to future demand. Comparing projects solely on construction cost per kilometre offers an incomplete picture. Any meaningful assessment should also examine the engineering standards achieved, the environmental safeguards put in place and the long-term capacity secured for the investment.”

The Dhaka–Ashulia Elevated Expressway has experienced relentless cost escalation since inception. Initially budgeted at BDT 169.01 billion, a first revision raised the allocation to BDT 175.53 billion, before a second revision approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on July 22 pushed total costs to nearly BDT 270.46 billion.

Md Hadiuzzaman, also a professor of civil engineering at BUET, questioned the project’s underlying technical and commercial rationale. He argued that while initial feasibility studies presumably established fiscal viability, absorbing nearly BDT 100 billion in cost overruns fundamentally undermines the project’s internal rate of return and financial metrics.

He added: “That a single contractor managed both design and construction, only to later cite drainage works and utility diversions to justify extra land acquisition and higher costs, exposes fundamental flaws in initial planning. These added expenses now warrant an independent ‘post-evaluation’ audit to determine whether the project remains financially viable.”

While experts have questioned the project’s construction costs, officials involved say the Dhaka–Ashulia Elevated Expressway became more expensive for legitimate reasons.

Project Director Md Shafiqul Islam defended the budget expansion citing US dollar appreciation, higher value-added tax and customs duties, unbudgeted utility relocations, alignment alterations mandated by Bangladesh Railway and the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority, revised navigation clearances, and new interchanges serving the airport’s third terminal, the metro rail and proposed underground rail networks.

Planning Commission Secretary SM Shakil Akhtar defended the budget increase on similar grounds, pointing to compliance with international construction standards, imported materials, additional connector ramps and elevated pier heights required to clear existing flyovers along the route.

Government policymakers have remained silent over the sudden BDT 95 billion cost escalation that emerged as the expressway approached completion. Bonik Barta contacted Dr Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, the prime minister’s finance and planning adviser, and Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki, the state minister for planning. Both declined to comment.

At an earlier post-ECNEC press conference, Saki had attributed the budget expansion to foreign exchange fluctuations, revised value-added tax and customs duties, unbudgeted utility diversions and the incorporation of five new project components.

Professor Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said weak planning blighted the project from the outset. “Several international studies consistently show that Bangladesh builds infrastructure and transport projects at higher costs than comparable developments elsewhere,” he told Bonik Barta. “The Dhaka–Ashulia project initially suffered design flaws, and costs escalated once those were revised. That reflects fundamental planning failures from the start.”

Rahman also questioned the country’s inflated land acquisition expenses, procurement practices and material import costs relative to international benchmarks.

“Addressing these distortions requires comparative research to isolate which components inflate costs and why,” he said. “Only by identifying these drivers can future construction budgets be brought under control.”