Dhaka, Nov. 19 -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is likely to provide US$ 2.0 billion worth of loan for widening Dhaka-Sylhet highway into four-lane, aimed at making the road suitable for regional connectivity as well as cross-border and regional trade, officials said on Wednesday.

The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) is working on preparing a project proposal for the highways based on the latest detailed design of the corridor, they said.

The project would require an estimated investment of nearly $ 2.88 billion, a senior RHD official said. "The ADB has agreed to provide the lion's share of the total cost in four trances during the entire project implementation period," he told the FE.

"We have already discussed with the ADB abou...