Physical work of the second underground metro-rail in the city is likely to start in July, as the first contract to develop depot land of the mass rapid transit line (MRT-5) North was signed with a Japan-Bangladesh joint-venture (JV) firm on Tuesday.
The MRT-5 North will be the first east-west metro corridor from Hemayetpur to Vatara through Baliarpur, Amin Bazar, Gabtoli, Mirpur-1, Mirpur-10, Mirpur-14, Kochukhet, Banani, Gulshan-1 and Notun Bazar.
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) signed the Tk 11.89-billion contract with the JV of Toa Corporation of Japan and Spectra Engineers Limited of Bangladesh at its Uttara Diyabari office in the city.
Managing Director of DMTCL M A N Siddique and representative of Toa Corporation Mitsuhiro Torii signed the contract package-1 in presence of Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary A B M Amin Ullah Nuri.
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori and Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Ichiguchi Tomohide were present on the occasion as special guests.
The MRT-5 North, with 14 stations, will be 20-kilometre long, of which 13.5 km will be underground and 6.5 km will be elevated.
It is planned to be completed by 2028 at a cost of Tk 412.38 billion, including JICA assistance of Tk 291.17 billion.
The depot site is located at Hemayetpur on 99.25 acres of land, including depot access corridor.
Officials said the pre-qualification bidding for all physical works of MRT-5 North has been called for short-listing the companies to complete the corridor.
During the contract signing ceremony, all speakers focused on the 51 years of diplomatic relationship between Japan and Bangladesh, and said the mutual cooperation has been strengthened following the Prime Minister's recent Japan visit. They also hoped that the depot development work will be completed within the scheduled time.
DMTCL has been working to develop a transport network with six MRTs on the city's different routes, targeting to complete those by 2030.
