The city people will soon witness the unofficial operation of metro rail from Agargaon to Motijheel route as the concerned authorities are all set to conduct the performance test from next July.
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) Managing Director MAN Siddique said this at a press conference at the DMTCL Head Office in the capital on Monday.
He also expressed his optimism that the work related to this route will continue as per the schedule.
MAN Siddique said, “First we will conduct a performance test. System integration tests and trial runs will then be conducted in phases later. After that, the metro rail will be fully operational. We have six months at hand and we will be able to finish the rest of the work by this time. Everything is continuing as per our target.”
The Agargaon to Motijheel section of the Metrorail is planned to be operational by the end of this year. The section from Motijheel to Kamalapur railway station may be operational by 2025.
Earlier on Thursday, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said that construction work of metro rail from Agargaon to Motijheel will be completed by next November.
He said that the work of Metrorail (MRT Line-6) up to Motijheel is progressing rapidly. Construction work is about to end. “We can inaugurate metro rail till Motijheel by next November. The work of MRT Line-6 can be completed this year itself,” said the Minister.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the country’s first metro rail on December 28 last year. The next day it was opened to the public. From the day after the inauguration, commercial operation of metro rail in Dhaka started with passengers. At present metro rail is operational from Uttara to Agargaon.
The cost of the MRT Line-6 project has been estimated at Tk 33472 crores. Out of this, JICA gave Tk 19719 crores and the amount Tk 13753 crores is from the government exchequer.
