ADB confirms $160m in loan to build Airport-Gazipur BRT

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FE Report
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Monday confirmed US$ 160 million's worth loans for constructing Bangladesh's first Bus Rapid Transit route from Airport to Gazipur.
The ADB singed a loan agreement with the Bangladesh government to disburse the credit for building the 20-kilometre Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line.
Saifuddin Ahmed, Joint Secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD) and Ms Teresa Kho, Country Director of ADB's Bangladesh Resident Mission, signed the loan deal at a ceremony at ERD in Dhaka.
Earlier on November 20, the government's highest economic policy-making body ECNEC approved Bangladesh's first BRT scheme from Airport to Gazipur at a cost of Tk 20.40 billion.
The total cost of the project is $255 million. Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is expected to co-finance the project with $45 million, while the Global Environment Facility will provide $4.60 million. The Government of Bangladesh is also providing $45.40 million.
The project is formally called "Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Project". Under it the government will construct the 20-km BRT line, 31 bus stations, a BRT depot in Gazipur, 7 flyovers and a bridge at Tongi, officials said.
Besides, 50 articulated buses would be procured under the project to carry passengers to and from Gazipur --- finally connecting the busy city of Dhaka.
The Roads and Highways Department (RHD), the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) and the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) will construct the country's first ever BRT line.
According to the design of the route, its 15.50 kms will be constructed on the surface of the existing road, and 4.5 kms will be elevated in the Tongi Bridge area.
The ADB's $160 million loan will be utilised to construct sidewalks, mixed-traffic lanes, high-capacity drainage system, BRT depot and terminal facilities, and 155 access roads for non-motorised transports.
The BRT's airport terminal will be developed to an inter-modal hub under a public-private partnership scheme. With an inclusive approach, the project will install 1,000 energy-efficient streetlights along the corridor; improve 10 local markets, nine drains, 141 local roads, and two pedestrian-friendly pilot roads, and further improve traffic management. The project will directly benefit more than one million people, ADB said.
The proposed Airport-Gazipur BRT line, to be developed under the project in the greater Dhaka area, will be integrated with the BRT system from Dhaka airport to the city center, proposed to be developed with assistance from the World Bank.
The ADB chief for Dhaka said: "To ensure a sustainable future for Dhaka, public transport focused on people's mobility needs and accessibility has to be improved and given priority over simple road projects."
The ADB also signed a $4.60 million worth of grant agreement with the government for technical support of the BRT project Monday.