FE REPORT
Leading urban planners oppose the recommendation by a BUET expert team to shut down the much-talked-about BRT project, arguing that completion would cost far less than demolition.
They estimate the dismantling of the massive structure would require between Tk 10 billion and Tk 120 billion.
Leaders of Bangladesh Planners Institute (BPI) shared their opinion at a press conference Monday and said completing the rest part of the project can be managed within the project's unspent funds but its demolishing stations and shifting of different items could rather be costly.
"The project can be completed within the project cost, remaining unspent," said BPI General Secretary Professor M Mosleh Uddin Hasan while talking on his keynote paper 'Public Transport-based town: Future of Gazipur BRT'.
A team of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, led by Professor Mohammad Shamsul Hoque of Civil Engineering Department, recently submitted a report on the future of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges with the recommendation of using the corridor as a high-speed road instead of a dedicated bus lane.
The BPI organised the press conference in the wake of BUET recommendation, and suggested a bail-in measure.
The Ministry requested the BUET team to guide the government on the Tk 42.68- billion BRT project titled Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Project as its forth revision with the proposal of further Tk 30-billion hike was rejected by the Planning Commission during the interim government tenure.
As per recommendation of the Planning Commission, two committees by the Planning and Maintenance Wing and Technical Service Wing were formed to investigate the project's poor state and find the responsible as well as guide the government on the project's future. But the committee reports were later shared to the BUET's Civil Engineering Department for its recommendation.
Dr M Mosleh Uddin Hasan says BRT is a symbol of better regeneration of towns and territories and its increase rate in the world since 2000 is now 383 per cent due to popularity.
Though the project implementation has been delayed more than 15 years, he also claims that basic BRT through the dedicated lane can be operated within six to 12 months.
The BPI also recommends review of the BRT company board by including the professionals and experts and proposes building a plan of more BRTs for other district towns.
Citing a study of BUET's Urban and Regional Planning Department that at least 13 BRT corridors would be needed to develop in the near future in the six cities like Rajshahi, Bogura, Tangail, Mymensign, and Comilla.
Later, the BIP formulated National Spatial Planning to propose BRT corridors and recommended BRT's expansion would also be in Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj cities as "people's mobility within the three cities has increased centering population and economic activities".
During the press conference, founder-President Professor Dr Golam Rahman, former President Professor Adil Muhammad Khan and member Mohammad Muntasir Mamun also spoke on the necessity of the BRT corridor development for a passenger-friendly modern transport in the city. BIP Vice-President Sheikh Muhammad Mehedi Ahsan moderated the conference.
They demanded punishment of those responsible for the poor state of the BRT project and inclusion of the Urban Planners in various development activities for the sake of proper reflection of urbanization and mobility.
smunima@yahoo.com
