The Asian Development Bank has funded a partial upgrade to one of Bangladesh's most critical regional transport corridors. The improvements will increase trade and connections across South Asia.

The ADB is providing $198 million, plus an additional $60 million from partner organizations, for the expansion and improvement of a 70-kilometer section of the corridor connecting Dhaka and the Northwest, the second busiest route in the country. The current congested two-lane road will be transformed into a route with four lanes, providing the nearly 7 million people living in the area with new business opportunities and better access to markets, schools and social services.

The initiative will also upgrade land ports at Benapole and Burimari, which handle the bulk of goods transported between Bangladesh and India.

Juan Miranda, director general of ADB's South Asia department, says upgrading the Dhaka-Chittagong-Northwest transport corridor will improve infrastructure and promote economic cooperation in one of the world's poorest and most densely populated areas.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.