Opening of the country's first dedicated bus corridor from Gazipur to Airport is unlikely to be possible before the upcoming general election, as expected by the government, due to complexities in selecting a company to procure buses for its operation.
Moreover, inauguration of the under-construction project has become uncertain once again rather for an indefinite period as project insiders said some critical construction components are yet to be completed and that would take time to finish.
Sources said the process of purchasing 137 buses to be required for operating the bus-based mass transit system has already been delayed and would take more time to complete it.
Around 30,000 passengers would commute daily through the 20-kilometre corridor in only 35-40 minutes.
Officials, however, claimed that they were in a process to negotiate with the BRTC to go for an interim arrangement to facilitate launching the BRT corridor in October as desired by the government.
Sources said the board of Dhaka BRT Company (DBRTC) is yet to approve the tender evaluation committee's report on the bus purchase due to receiving a complaint in the selection process. The tender was floated in January last.
Though the CPTU (Central Procurement Technical Unit) has cleared the objections, they said the board is yet to get confidence in approving the report.
The complaint was raised for opening a 'slight' damaged envelope submitted by the lowest bidder on the last day of tender submission, said a source.
Over the issue, the Dhaka BRT Company is yet to start the process of purchasing modern and articulated buses, making the corridor opening uncertain for an indefinite period, insiders said.
The project missed the deadline of completion several times since starting the construction in 2018. The last deadline was in June 2023.
However, sources said, the authorities concerned have set a new target to open the corridor by October next to meet the government's target to open the important and mega infrastructure projects ahead of the election schedule.
The Prime Minister already inaugurated the government's one of the critical projects, Dhaka Elevated Expressway, by partially opening the corridor from Kawla near HSIA to Farmgate on September 03.
Besides, dates of inauguration are also declared for Padma Rail Link project, Khulna Mongla rail link project, Mass Rapid Transit Line 6 from Agargaon to Motijheel, Karnaphuli Tunnel and part of the 3rd Terminal at HSIA, among others, by October.
"We now hope to inaugurate the BRT by October," Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri said.
As the project has so far achieved an implementation progress of 92 per cent, he told the FE over phone that an initiative has been taken to operate the BRT with an interim arrangement.
Sources said the RTHD has started a process to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) to operate the BRT on behalf of the Dhaka BRT Company, a state-owned company formed like MRT.
The BRTC has already sent a draft MoU to the RTHD and is expecting to hold a discussion on it by this week.
The project insiders said the contractor is yet to complete majority stations of the corridor. The design of two piers at a busy road crossing is yet to be confirmed as the length between the two is more than usual.
Managing Director of DBRTC M Shafiqul Islam and the RTHD secretary refused to comment on the procurement and board decisions.
It is learnt that a Chinese company was recommended by the evaluation committee to purchase the buses for the BRT. In the first two phases 50 buses would be brought for the corridor and 37 in the last phase.
The Dhaka BRT project was first approved in 2012 but its development project proposal (DPP) has already been revised twice in 2015 and 2018, doubling the cost from Tk 20.38 billion to Tk 42.68 billion.
The two Chinese companies were selected to construct 16 km at grade and 6 km elevated road in 917 days from the commencement of work on April 13 and October 19, 2017 respectively.
The Asian Development Bank provided US$ 160 million. Agence Francaise de Development will lend $ 45 million for bus procurement. Global Environment Fund Grant of the US provided $ 4.6 million.
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