Most metro rail projects in Bangladesh set to miss 2030 deadline
The sluggish pace of five of the six ongoing and proposed projects for the construction of mass rapid transit lines, popularly known as metro rail, connecting Dhaka city and its outskirts makes their completion unlikely by 2030.
The six projects are meant to build six metro rail lines with metro trains are now running on the first portion of the elevated MRT Line-6 project on the Uttara–Motijheel route.
The Line-6 took about six years to complete.
Construction works of two more lines, including the first underground metro rail, started last year, while construction works of three more lines are yet to start.
The government is already planning to ditch one of the lines—MRT Line 5 Southern Route—citing it to be less useful.
Transport experts observe that some of these projects would very likely cross their current 2030 deadline, particularly because they include the building of underground rail lines involving more time and cost.
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited managing director Mohammad Abdur Rouf said that they had faced some challenges, including delays in getting approvals, which in some cases took about a year, from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the funding agency for the MRT 6, 1 and 5 (Northern route) lines.
‘We, however, face no problem in getting the fund released although the JICA makes detailed queries about different components of these projects,’ he said, adding that they were still with their plan to finish the lines’ construction by 2030.
Some project officials, meanwhile, said that some projects would require more time.
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited is the implementing agency of the metro rail system.
The works to build a network of around 141-kilometre-long six MRT lines, comprising both elevated and underground ones, started in 2016 in Dhaka city to finish by 2030 with stated aims to reduce traffic congestion and improve the environment of the capital and peri-urban areas around it.
As per the government plan, the first metro rail project—MRT Line-6—is expected to complete by 2025; the MRT Line-1 in 2026; the MRT Line-5 Northern Route in 2028; and the MRT Line–5 Southern Route, the MRT Line-2, and the MRT Line-4 in 2030.
The 21.26-km-long MRT Line-6 on the Uttara–Kamalapur route has been under implementation since 2012 and its construction began in 2016.
Following extension of the line, the modification of rolling stocks and other reasons, the revised cost now stands at around Tk 33,472 crore (with JICA provided Tk 19,719 crore as loan) from Tk 21,985.07 crore while the modified deadline is December 2025 which was June 2024.
Metro rail services on the Uttara–Agargaon section was inaugurated on December 28, 2022 which extended till Motijheel on November 4, 2023.
As of October this year, the average progress of works of Uttara-Motijheel section is 98.62 per cent and the progress of the civil works of on the Motijheel-Kamalapur section is 41.73 per cent.
The 31.241-km-long MRT Line-1 will be the first underground metro rail system in Bangladesh and its construction work started on February 2, 2023.
The line between the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and the Dhaka (Kamalapur) Railway Station will have two parts — 19.872-km-long underground Airport Route and 11.369-km-long elevated Purbachal Route.
The project is cost is around Tk 53,900 crore while the JICA is providing around Tk 39,450 crore as project assistance.
Till October this year, the progress of the project’s land development works for the depot at Pitalganj is 80 per cent.
Calling of tenders for different packages of the project are under processes currently, said a project official.
He added that it would require more time to complete the project work as the contractor for the project is yet to be selected.
The MRT Line-5 will have two routes — northern and southern — which will be regarded as two separate MRT lines.
The Northern Route is scheduled to run between Hemayetpur and Bhatara while the Southern Route between Gabtoli and Dasherkandi.
The construction work of the Northern Route started on November 4, 2023 with an estimated cost of Tk 41,238 crore while the JICA is providing around Tk 29,117 crore as project assistance.
The total length of the Northern Route is 20km — 6.5-km-long elevated section from Hemayetpur to Amin Bazar and from Natun Bazar to Bhatara and 13.5-km-long underground section from Amin Bazar to Natun Bazar transition.
The progress of the land development work for the depot at Hemayetpur is 30.63 per cent till October this year.
Tenders for other works are under processes currently.
Transportation engineering expert Professor Md Shamsul Hoque said that the alignment of the MRT line 6 was the best out of all six MRT lines which took around six years to be completed.
‘It will require many years to construct underground metro lines in a densely populated city like which will also cost higher,’ he said and observed that light rail or monorail systems are much suitable for Bangladesh.
He urged the government to revisit the planned MRT line projects terming these as ‘energy and cost- hungry’ ones.
The feasibility study and engineering design for the 17.2-km-long MRT Line-5 Southern Route have been carried out for the purpose of building it’s underground segment from Gabtoli to the west side of Aftab Nagar and elevated stretch from the centre of Aftab Nagar to Dasherkandi.
The Planning Commission is now rethinking to scrape the project, said managing director Abdur Rouf.
In order to construct around a 35-km-long MRT Line-2 from Gabtoli to Narayanganj sadar via Mohammadpur, New Market, Gulistan, Kamalapur and Signboard, the authorities are now in search for a development aid organisation to conduct the feasibility study.
The authorities appointed consultant company on May 14 this year to conduct feasibility study for the construction of around 16-km-long MRT Line-4, combining of elevated and underground segments — between Kamalapur in the capital and Madanpur in Narayanganj district via Signboard.
Source: New Age | 12 November 2024 | Author: Shahin Akhter
