WB review mission arrives in city tomorrow

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Munima Sultana A World Bank (WB) mission is going to arrive in the city tomorrow (Sunday) to review a number of projects. The projects to be reviewed include a bus rapid transit (BRT) project to introduce a mass transportation system in the city by establishing a dedicated bus lane. Officials said the 12-member supervision mission, led by task team leader Maria Sarraf, will stay here until October 3. Other members include co-task team leader for environment Shakil Ahmed Ferdausi, environment specialist Jie Li, co-task team leader for transport Shige Sakaki, lead transport consultant Andres Pizarro and social specialist Anna O'Donnel. The mission will review all components under the Clean Air and Sustainable Environment (CASE) project. The Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) is implementing the 22-kilometre-long BRT line-3, planned to set up from Airport to Sadarghat. A feasibility study was conducted for it under the CASE project with the WB's support. The WB funded the CASE project to provide technical assistance for setting up foot-over bridges and improving traffic management. A WB official said the mission's review is important to assess the performance of the BRT project, as the WB once assessed it as a 'no moving project'. The DTCA has already completed the feasibility study to set up the BRT line-3 from Airport to Sadarghat. But it is yet to start the detailed design of the corridor. The project's consultant identified 12 obstacles in setting up the dedicated bus lane along the route. When asked whether the mission's review on performance of the project has any link with the WB's funding in future, the official said the donor has not yet received any request from the government in this regard. The government has taken the first BRT project from Gazipur to Hazrat Shahjalal (R) International Airport under the Asian Development Fund, which is at the completion stage. However, the BRT line-3 project is yet to select consultant and complete detailed design and necessary formalities to get its project proposal approved due to lack of assurance of fund. The DTCA officials said the WB mission will attend a roundtable discussion on the BRT, mostly to highlight the global lessons learnt in this regard and relate those with Dhaka's urban context. The WB official said the mission will also review brick manufacturing, as it is also a component of the CASE project. After completion, the BRT will be able to transport 0.1 million commuters per day, which is expected to bring down use of private cars in the city.