PM Hasina inaugurates work of Metrorail, Bus Rapid Transit

​Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has inaugurated the work for construction of the Metrorail which aims to ease traffic congestions in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka.

She has also inaugurated the work to the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) from Gazipur to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport under the Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Project.

“A longstanding dream of ours is going to come true,” she said after flagging off the Metrorail and BRT works during a programme at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre on Sunday.

Hasina said her administration will continue to work on improving the traffic situation in Dhaka and making commuting inside the city easier.

“Too many people live in Dhaka. But there aren’t enough roads to ensure easy transport. On the other hand, people’s ability to buy cars is increasing due socio-economic development.

“Our government always thinks that development should be sustainable,” she said.

Under the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project, the construction of Line -6, which is an elevated Metro Rail system from Uttara to Motijheel’s Shapla intersection, is going to start at first.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is providing Tk 165.95 billion of the Tk 220 billion project covering a distance of 20km.

Route No. 6 will be elevated all the way and it will have 16 stations, while trains will carry 60,000 passengers both ways every hour. It will take approximately 38 minutes to reach Motijheel from Uttara.

 

In the first phase, the trains will go up to Agargaon in 2019, while the extension to Motijheel will be completed by 2020.

The prime minister suggested the first phase’s work to be extended to Farmgate, adding that this will make commuters travel to different areas in the city easier.

Apart from Route No. 6, she also talked about making preparations to start the works of two other routes: Routes 1 and 5.

# The 42-kilometre Route No. 1 will be from Gazipur to Jhilmil project at Keraniganj. The first phase of this construction will extend from the airport to Kamalapur, and from Khilkhet to Purbachal; 10 kilometres of this 27-kilometre track will be underground.

# The 35-kilometre Route No. 5 will connect the metropolis from east to west. It will lie between Bhulta in Narayanganj and Gabtoli. The primary phase, comprising 17 kilometres from Bhatara to Gabtoli-Hemayetpur, will include six kilometres of underground tracks.

Sheikh Hasina said once operational, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) will make travel between Tongi and Uttara more comfortable.

The government hopes it will also free the capital from gridlocks and more commuters will be able to avail fast, cheap, and comfortable travel.

>> There will be 25 stations on the 20.5-kilometre BRT route from the Gazipur terminal to the airport. Six flyovers will also be built.

>> Of the total route length, 4.5 kilometres - Uttara to Tongi - would be an elevated lane. The remaining 16 kilometres will be on the ground.

>> Altogether 100 articulated buses will run on this route. Commuters will use electronic smart cards to pay bus fares. Buses will leave the stations every three minutes.

The prime minister on Sunday said around 25,000 people would be able to commute hourly once the BRT was up and running.

The government, Asian Development Bank, French Development Agency and Global Environmental Facility Fund are jointly funding the Tk 20.4 billion project.

The government hopes to open the BRT in December 2018.

Hasina said they have initiated the work to build road, rail and water ways around Dhaka City. The government has also taken different measures to establish a ‘stronger road and railway network’ throughout the country.

Addressing Sunday’s inauguration ceremony, she also mentioned a plan to develop the highways from Dhaka towards the southern and northern regions and Sylhet to four-lane ones.

She said in the past seven years her government built 5,000 bridges, including 14 big ones, and 21,000 kilometres of new road across the country.