Nearly half a million commuters benefit daily from Bangladesh's maiden operational metro rail -- many making a joy ride over Dhaka city -- its projected expansion has effectively stalled with projects gathering dust.
Sector analysts also air doubt about government intention in continuing any projects of mass rapid transit (MRT) corridors development during the interim government's tenure.
They guess policy-level shifts towards light rapid transit (LRT) or monorail options might be reason as none of the five leftover MRT projects see any realistic progress.
Officials and project insiders have said frustration has grown over the failure to resolve outstanding issues related to two approved MRT projects -- MRT 1 and MRT 5 North -- particularly disputes over costs and initiating formal negotiations with the Japanese funding agency.
They also alleged reluctance on part of the ministries concerned to approve new projects, even after the estimated cost of MRT-5 South was revised down since the interim government was formed after the July Uprising that led to the ouster of the Awami League government.
"Even a grant-funded project for capacity building of MRT professionals was rejected recently," says one official, requesting anonymity.
The Planning Commission last month rejected a technical-assistance project proposal (TAPP) for MRT-2, intended to be funded with World Bank grants.
In addition, a proposal to extend the tenure of the TAPP for MRT-5 South was not given the go-ahead, despite officials saying the extension was necessary to avoid complications if the original project is approved by the next government.
Talking with project officials, contractors and consultants, the FE correspondent also came to know except land acquisition and utility shifting, any of these projects did have no progress.
Sources have said the Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD) has paid little attention to MRT-related issues, while the Planning Commission and the Economic Relations Division (ERD) have remained reluctant to move forward.
While several ministries have secured approval for revisions of other high-cost projects involving significant cost increases -- including the Matarbari Deep-sea Port -- sector analysts say the MRT projects are kept aside showing unusual cost or not taking anymore megaproject as the grounds.
Disagreements emerged between DMTCL and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) over alleged syndication involving several Japanese firms and quoting unusual price.
NDKM, the consulting firm for MRT 1 and MRT 5 North, has been inactive for the reasons.
Officials from DMTCL, RTHD and the consulting firm have confirmed that all parties have remained largely silent about resolving the dispute. However, all these projects started counting loan interest of nearly US$ 10 billion.
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), the state-owned entity responsible for MRT planning and implementation, plans to seek guidance from the RTHD, particularly on MRT 1 and MRT 5 North, as these two are only approved projects among its total six MRTs which reached bidding stage.
It shows several options which include revision of DPP with twofold higher cost from the original or cancellation.
Both the MRT-1 and MRT-5 North projects have remained stalled for the past year after JICA rejected DMTCL's request for retendering through open bidding.
DMTCL Managing Director Faruque Ahmed says the government must provide strategic direction given the current circumstances.
"The government should adopt strategic directions to revive the projects - whether through cost revision, cancellation or any other option," he told The Financial Express recently.
Another project official has said revision of the DPP is not possible without completing negotiations about funding sources.
Citing JICA guidelines, he notes that increased costs would otherwise have to be borne by the government and DPP must recalculate the IRR again before submission.
But officials opined that proper negotiations could have created opportunities to increase project aid or revise technical scopes, including reducing underground sections in favour of elevated structures or exploring co-financing options to reduce the total cost.
"But nothing has been done yet from any side," says the official.
During the interim government's tenure, all mass-transit projects have stalled due to cost concerns, with the government citing the previous administration's pursuit of unnecessary megaprojects.
It has already scrapped the bus rapid transit (BRT) project and declined to extend the tenure of the bus route franchise (BRF) scheme.
Meanwhile, low-cost alternatives such as LRT and monorail have gained prominence in election campaigns, though transport experts argue these do not qualify as mass-transit systems.
DMTCL has six MRT lines in its master plan, of which MRT-6 has been operational from Uttara to Motijheel since 2023.
smunima@yahoo.com
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