The government has set a standard for setting up metro rails in the country as it has planned to introduce several mass transport services within next 20 years.
With the technical support of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority has set the technical standard for the metro rails in Bangladesh.
Official sources said the governing council of DTCA has already approved the standard at its sixth meeting.
They said the standard has been set aiming to ensure smooth transits, increase the efficiency and improve the quality of passenger service in the country.
It is also aimed to ensure safety, economics, conveniences, comfort and other factors of basic standards while taking plan of constructing metro rail in any corridors in the capital or in the country.
At present, the government has plans to construct five metro rails or mass rapid transit lines in different corridors in the city as per the recommendations put forward by Japanese experts under the Revised Strategic Transport Plan (RSTP).
The DTCA has already made a progress in implementing the MRT line-6 project undertaken to introduce 20-kilometre elevated line from Uttara to Motijheel by 2019.
Besides, the authority has taken a move to start two more MRTs (MRT line-1 and MRT line-5) from Airport to Kamalapur station and from Gabtoli to Vatara as pre-feasibility study on those lines had been completed.
JICA has hinted that it may provide technical and financial support for these MRTs like MRT-6, but the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has also come forward with financial proposal for US$ 1.0 billion for one of the MRT lines.
However, different countries including China, Malaysia and Iran have also shown interest in constructing the metro rail in the city.
"There is scope of constructing some metro rails under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative in future as an estimated investment of more than $ 20 billion may be needed for setting up of metro rails," said an official.
He said technical standard will help the government maintain quality and safety by ensuring uniformity among all these metro rails.
Preferring not to be named, the official said this standard will also ensure maintenance of standards and quality so that efforts to get work with cheap quotation can be avoided.
Technical standards will ensure that all the investors maintain a standard and quality in planning and construction levels like platform facilities, stations, depot, washing, maintenance, coaches, air condition of coaches, electricity consumption, electrical equipment etc.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
