A joint venture of eight companies is set to work as the construction supervision consultant for the country's first underground metro rail project, which is expected to start soon.
Sources said the land development work of the mass rapid transit line-1 (MRT-1) would start within a few months as the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) selected the contractor in August last.
Nippon Koei of Japan is the lead consultant for the project work that would start by a year or two, they said.
The DMTCL has a plan to develop six MRTs in the city by 2030 and the first one, MRT-6, is at its last stage of construction.
The MRT-1 is the second one to be developed from the Airport Railway Station to Kamalapur Station with a link through Purbachal - it will have both underground and elevated portions.
Other companies of the joint venture are: Oriental Consultant Global Company of Japan, SYSTRA SA of France, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation of India, Katahira and Engineers International of Japan, Nippon Koei India, Nippon Koei Bangladesh, and Development Design Consultants of Bangladesh.
The contract is set to be signed between the DMTCL and Nippon Koei of Japan in Dhaka today (Sunday).
Project officials said the companies concerned will work on different parts of the project in accordance with their specialisation. As the MRT-1 will be the first underground railway, more diversified works of supervision will be required.
Nippon Koei of Japan has been working as the consultant of the MRT-6 and MRT-5 North.
smunima@yahoo.com