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Road Transport and Highways Division

division · verified (verified 2026-05-17)

Profile

Head
Dr. Mohammad Ziaul Haque
Role
Secretary
Annual budget
৳323,295,700,000
Staff
—
Established
2014
Legal basis
Rules of Business 1996 (Bangladesh); Road Transport Act 2018; Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1983

Managing a road safety crisis (320-367 deaths in Eid 2026 travel, up ~19% year-on-year) while advancing two major regulatory reforms -- the Motor Vehicle Scrapping and Recycling Policy 2026 and an April 2026 diesel bus fare revision -- alongside a Tk 32,329 crore ADP portfolio dominated by the Dhaka-Chittagong corridor 10-lane expansion ($5.5 billion, under ADB financing study) and the N1 highway 6-8 lane upgrade (Tk 73,150 crore estimated); BRTC's 340 CNG AC bus procurement (Tk 1,133 crore, Korean Exim Bank) remains delayed.

Recent activity

Provenance & notes

RTHD established February 10, 2014 per Wikipedia, carved out of the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges to form a separate division focused on highways and road transport policy. The ministry retains two divisions: RTHD and Bridges Division. Secretary Dr. Mohammad Ziaul Haque was promoted from Additional Secretary to Secretary of RTHD by public administration ministry notification dated December 23, 2025 (BSS News flash 344443), replacing Md. Ehsanul Haque who moved to senior secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration in October 2025. Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam's portfolio formally covers Road Transport and Bridges, Railways, and Shipping under PM Tarique Rahman's cabinet sworn in February 17, 2026. Annual budget figure reflects RTHD's ADP FY2025-26 allocation of Tk 32,329.57 crore (Tk 32,329,57,00,000 BDT); this is the development budget only and is the second-largest ADP allocation across all ministries/divisions. Road safety: per BRTA data, 285 died in Eid 2025 travel vs 320 in Eid 2026 travel (Apr 4-18), a 12.3% increase; Road Safety Foundation's wider Apr 4-20 window gives 367. The divergence between BRTA (govt) and Road Safety Foundation (private) figures is a documented systemic measurement issue. Padma bus accident (March 25, 2026): reports vary from 24 (NBC) to 26 (Xinhua, Washington Post) dead; 26 used as final confirmed toll from Xinhua and WaPo. Motor Vehicle Scrapping Policy date (April 8, 2026) sourced from RTHD homepage notice; full gazette text not yet retrieved. Verification based on 2+ primary sources for all material claims.

Sources