Construction work of the underground metro rail is likely to begin in Dhaka in March, 2022. The depot will be built first. After that, construction work of subway railways and ancillary infrastructure including stations will start in phases.
Managing Director (MD) of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd (DMTCL) MAN Siddique, disclosed the information at an online press conference on Thursday.
The DMTCL’s MD said that the construction of the first subway in Dhaka will be done through MRT-1 project, under 12 packages. In the first package, depot land will be developed and ancillary infrastructure will be constructed. Tenders have been invited for this. The tender process will be completed by next September.
He expressed the hope that it would be possible to start the construction work of the depot at Pitalganj in Rupganj within the next six months.
MAN Siddique said that the railway will have two sections. The first part will be completely underground. The 19.87-km long underground section will be constructed from Dhaka Airport Railway Station to Kamalapur Railway Station. And an 11.36-km long flyover will be constructed from Kamalapur to Purbachal.
He further said that 25 trains will be purchased for the subway in Dhaka. Each train will have eight coaches. Each train will be able to carry 3,088 passengers at a time.
It will be possible to transport eight lakh passengers every day. The construction cost of the railway line has been estimated at Tk 52,561 crore.
It was informed at the press conference that the government has undertaken a project to build six metro rails in Dhaka and its nearby areas by 2030. Among them, one metro rail project is being implemented on the 20.10 km flyover from Uttara to Motijheel, which is known as Line-6.
