The prime minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to inaugurate the Dhaka Elevated Expressway on the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport-Farmgate route for vehicular movement in September.

The road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader made the announcement during a visit at the project site on Saturday.

He also said that within December this year the project’s work till Farmgate ramp would be completed.

‘A proposal came from Dhaka North City Corporation about the Hatirjheel area under the project and the prime minister is considering the matter,’ he said.

The minister also said that till now the overall project progress was 63 per cent.

‘No two or three-wheeler vehicles will be allowed on the expressway,’ he said.

The 46.73-kilometre expressway project connects Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway at Kutubkhali, near Jatrabari.

The project was undertaken in 2011 to reduce traffic congestion in the capital and save time and money.

It was revised in 2013 because of alignment changes, and construction began in 2015 at an estimated cost of Tk 8,940 crore.

First Dhaka Elevated Expressway Company Ltd, an Italian, Thai, and Chinese joint venture, is implementing the project under the supervision of the Bangladesh Bridge Authority.

As of June 6, the project’s overall progress was 62.18 per cent.

The main elevated portion of the expressway from the airport to Kutubkhali is 19.73 km, and it has 31 ramps — 15 for up and 16 for down — for a total length of 27km.

It largely follows the existing railways in full alignment from Dhaka airport to Kutubkhali.