The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday approved two new metro rail projects in the capital to ease traffic congestion as well as ensure smooth commuting of the megacity dwellers. Estimated cost of the two projects is Tk 93,800 crore. The ECNEC meeting was held at the National Economic Council conference room in the capital with ECNEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
After the meeting, Planning Minister MA Mannan said that a total of 10 projects were approved involving an overall estimated cost of Tk 1,00,025.23 crore. “Of the total project cost, Tk 30,466.02 crore will be provided from the government exchequer, Tk 515.84 crore from the concerned organizations’ own fund while the rest of Tk 69,043.37 crore will come from the project assistance,” he added.
The minister said that the Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) Line 1 and 5 would be implemented with an estimated cost of Tk 93,800 crore to reduce the traffic jams from the capital. Of the total cost of the two metro rail projects, Tk 25,232.60 crore will come from the state exchequer while Tk 68,567.32 crore will come from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited will implement both the projects. The work for the two metro line projects would be completed within the stipulated timeframe and estimated cost, he added. According to the Planning Commission, the work for MRT Line 1 Project will be completed between September 2019 and December 2026 with an estimated cost of Tk 52,561.43 crore. Of the amount, Tk 13,111.11 crore will come from the government of Bangladesh while the rest of Tk 39,450.32 crore will come as project assistance from JICA.
Around 16.21 kilometer of the 31.24 kilometer MRT Line 1 will be underground from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Kamalapur while around 11.36 kilometer from Kuril to Purbachal Depot would be elevated. Besides, there will be 3.65 kilometer underground transition line from Natun Bazar to Kuril.
The first part of the project, 16.21km, namely airport route will be stretching from the terminal 3 of the airport to Kamalapur via Khilkhet, Jamuna Future Park, Notun Bazar, Badda, Hatirjheel, Rampura, Malibagh and Razarbagh. The second part will be the Purbachal route stretching from Notun Bazar to Purbachal Depot via Jamuna Future Park.
On the other hand, the 20km MRT-5 route, namely northern route, would run on Hemayetpur-Baliarpur-Madhumati-Amin Bazzar-Gabtoli-DarusSalam-Mirpur1-Mirpur10-Mirpur14-Kochukhet-Banani-Gulshan2-Notun Bazzar-Vatara route. The total length of the corridor will be 19.60km with 13.60km underground and 6km elevated.
The MRT-5 project’s estimated cost is Tk 41,238.54 crore. JICA will give Tk 29,117.05 crore while Tk 12,121.49 crore will come from the government exchequer. The project is aimed at completing between July 2019 and December 2028, according to the planning commission.
About 20km new metro rail route from Hemayetpur to Bhatara will have a 14km underground part, sources said adding that 14 stations will be constructed in the route. The interest rate of the JICA loan will be 0.95 percent payable in 30 years. Japan is also funding the country's first elevated metro rail, MRT Line-6, from Uttara to Motijheel.
The government wants to build all five metro lines -- one elevated, one underground, and three underground plus elevated -- in the capital and its adjacent areas by 2030 to ease traffic congestion and reduce pollution - the two major problems that over 1.5 crore residents are facing.
