Three agencies target same corridor for city subways

Munima Sultana | Published: May 21, 2016 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Three agencies of the government are making moves to burrow through the same corridor in the city for setting up subways for speedy commuter movement.
Bangladesh Railway (BR) and Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) have taken separate steps to construct underground subways through a corridor where construction of a mass rapid transit line (MRT) or metro rail is under consideration of the Dhaka Transport Coordination Board (DTCA).
BR sources said the development project proposal on theirs has already been completed and it is now under scrutiny of the Ministry of Railway before being considered by the Planning Commission.
According to the BR, construction of the underground metro/subway is being planned to be built along its existing line from Joydevpur to Dhaka Kamalapur Railway Station under the BR's 20-year master plan.
On the other hand, the BBA formulated a policy to construct four subways including one from Tongi to Syedabad through the same railway corridor at a cost of US $8.4 billion. It also shared the policy and plan with all stakeholders in April last.
BBA sources said they worked on the subway plan following the Prime Minister's directive on underground passages for the city. They said on March 23, a letter was sent to the BBA to take measures for utilising the city's underground land.
At the same time, the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges officially made a proposal to Japan to conduct a feasibility study on the MRT line-1, as experts recommended routing of it from the airport railway station to Kamalapur railway station.
Japanese consultants working under DTCA proposed five MRT lines to facilitate commuter movement from east to west and from north to south.
The MRT-1 will have an extension to the Purbachal project, the construction modality of which is supposed to be recommended in the feasibility study, according to DTCA officials.
They said both Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) are likely to conduct the study.
These MRT lines have been proposed after studying the city scenario during the last 10 years, including its traffic flow, trips and population growth.
Taking up separate projects by different agencies will be a sheer waste of money, experts say.
Transport expert Syed Shamsul Hoque said this kind of situation arises when there is ignorance of an agency about the extent of work, funding and operation in setting up any subway and metro rail.
Professor of Civil Engineering Department Dr Hoque said constructing any subway or metro rail needs a specialised institution and an operational mechanism. He has pointed out that the government has already developed an institution called Dhaka Mass Transit Company (DMTC).
"DMTC is now responsible to carry out all related work on this kind of projects from the inception to operation," he told the FE on phone.
A BR official in the planning section said the BR's initiative is part of its master plan, as the existing Joydevpur-Kamalapur railway line will be used for long route train operation.
"The subway which is now planned to run up to Narayanganj is to facilitate commuter movement in suburbs through the city," he said.
However, the strategic transport plan (STP), which the experts consider a guideline for providing transport-related facilities for the city commuters for 20 years, has been revised to update transport facilities for greater Dhaka and its suburbs.
The BBA's subway proposal is not included in the revised STP.
According to the BBA's proposal, a 32km long subway the construction of which will cost $5.26 billion will connect Syedabad with Tongi via Airport, Kakoli, Mohakhali, Moghbazar, Paltan and Motijheel.
It will also be expanded to Narayanganj in future.
The distance between Joydevpur and Dhaka is 32 km.
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