A search for pulling US$6.0 billion in loans from foreign lenders gets going as the government now bids for implementing two gigantic MRT-line projects to upgrade Dhaka's still-troublesome traffic system, officials said.
The two more metro lines will require Tk 892.36 billion, equivalent to $8.11 billion, worth of total investment where nearly $6.08 billion is envisaged as foreign loans, they said Monday.
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) will require Tk608.36 billion for the MRT line-2 works and Tk284 billion for the MRT line-4 execution.
The state-owned company has sent Preliminary Development Project Proposal (PDPP) to the Planning Commission (PC) and the Economic Relations Division (ERD) for seeking out the foreign funds, said a PC official.
A senior ERD official said: "We are finding out money for the fresh MRT lines. After getting concrete assurance from foreign development partners, DMTCL would go for construction work of the MRT lines."
The division has already sent the funding request to some prospective foreign development partners like Japan, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Korea for bankrolling the metro-rail projects, he added.
The government has been building three MRT lines among which the MRT-6 line from Uttara to Motijheel has almost been completed. Trains on the overhead MRT-6 route are now carrying nearly 0.24 million passengers daily from Uttara to Motijheel business district in the capital.
Construction works on the MRT-1 from Airport to Kamalapur and the MRT-5 (north) from Hemayetpur to Vatara have started.
A Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges official says they have already requested the ERD to confirm foreign funding of the MRT line-2 and MRT line-4 works.
They want to start the building of the MRT-2 and MRT-4 shortly so that "Dhaka city-dwellers can get a big boost in transportation system by 2030", he adds, as the interior commuting system still remains outmoded.
The proposed MRT-2 line will be constructed along Gabtoli-New Market-Plessey-Golapshah Majar-Motijheel-Kamalapur-Mugda-Demra-Chittagong Road route.
This 24km line will basically be an elevated metro with only 9 kilometres being underground.
The 16km proposed MRT-4 will be built from Kamalapur to Narayanganj. The entire line will be elevated.
According to DMTCL, the estimated Tk 608.36-billion-cost MRT-2 line will be the longest with a 24km stretch, and it requires Tk 456.26 billion worth of foreign loans.
The remaining amount of funds is expected to be defrayed from government's internal resources.
For the proposed Tk284 billion worth of MRT-4 line, the company is searching for Tk212.50 billion worth of funds from foreign sources. The remaining funds will be provided from Bangladesh's own coffers.
The DMTCL official says they have a target to start construction of both the lines next year and commence operation for passenger haulage by the year 2030.
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