The government of Bangladesh yesterday signed a public-private partnership (PPP) contract with a Chinese consortium to turn a major road in the eastern part of capital Dhaka into a four-lane expressway, reports Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

China Communications Construction Company and China Road Bridge Corporation will invest around $245m (20.94 billion taka) in the project, while the Bangladeshi government will invest some $140m (12.09 billion taka).

The consortium will build the expressway and maintain it for the next 25 years under the deal, signed in the capital, Dhaka.