Going by MRT project schedule now tougher

More new challenges have cropped up over implementation of the country's first mass rapid transport (MRT) project making its launch by 2019 doubtful.
The Dhaka Mass Rapid Transport Development (DMRTD) project office has stumbled upon the challenges that deal a blow to going by the schedule for construction of the rapid transport line in the city's busiest corridor.
Sources said the DMRTD project office found the high-voltage electricity lines in the median area from Agargaon to Cantonment as an obstacle to the elevated passage of the MRT line-6.
Besides, it is also facing a problem with getting land in the city's congested area to set up construction yards as per the requirement placed by experts of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
According to sources, within the three kilometres (km) area from Agargaon, the MRT line-6 will have 92 pillars and two stations. But the 32KV line erected on the same alignment by the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Limited has posed a serious obstruction to the construction.
The project office in a recent survey of the 20-kilometre corridor also identified eight pieces of land it requires. The land is owned by different government agencies, including Dhaka South City Corporation (DCC), Public Works Department (PWD) and Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakhya (RAJUK).
But sources said the RAJUK in a meeting had already refused to provide its land for the project.
The DMRTD project has sought two pieces of land from the PWD in Agargaon and Farmgate areas, one of land from DCC South at Golapbagh of Jatrabari and five others from RAJUK under its Uttara 3rd phase project area. The five sites include Uttara 3rd phase water treatment plant area, central business district, central plaza and the land kept for building recreation facilities for an apartment block.
DMRTD project officials said the five sites under RAJUK's Uttara 3rd phase area were sought for use as construction yards until 2021/22.
When contacted, RAJUK Chairman Joynal Abedin Bhuiyan has told the FE that RAJUK is liable to beneficiaries of the Uttara 3rd phase project as the land has been set aside for building various facilities for the residents there.
"If the land was a vacant area, it could be handed over for the MRT project temporarily. But RAJUK is answerable to its plot users," he added.
The RAJUK earlier had to hand over its 54 acres of land from its Uttara 3rd phase area to the DMRTD project for setting up the MRT depot under pressure from government high-ups including the Prime Minister-recommended fast-track committee.
RAJUK sources said handover of any more land for the MRT project would be a blunder in implementing its ongoing Uttara 3rd phase project.
But the DMRTD project office finds no other choice but to get the eight hectares of land from eight different locations in the city's congested areas.
DMRTD project director Mofazzel Hossain, however, admitted that the launch of the MRT line by 2019 would be a challenging task. It would be possible, he added, to maintain the schedule, if all agencies concerned cooperate positively and without any delay considering the MRT's importance in the busy metropolis.
"We cannot waste our time. From the project office, we are continuing our team work throughout day and night. But we need cooperation from others as the MRT is a new kind of project for all of us and there is the possibility that new problems will arise," he told the FE at his office.
According to experts, at least 12 years are needed to launch a metro rail, if everything goes smoothly. Japan had completed its first MRT in 18 years and India took 22 years. The government, however, has taken the challenge to open a part of the 20.1 km MRT line in 2019 by working in full swing in six to seven years.
The US $ 2.7 billion project was officially launched during the fiscal year (FY) 2011-12 but its detailed design and other consultancy work began in 2014. The government fixed 2016 to complete the procurement and detailed design work before starting the construction in 2017. It fixed two years for completing the work on the line from Uttara to Farmgate in consideration that the area would have fewer problems with the utility lines as a newly-developed area.
But the 32kv line of the Power Grid Company constructed three years ago deals the project a severe blow.
Sources said the government would now have to bear a cost of Tk 500 million to Tk 1.0 billion for relocating the high-voltage line as it would not be possible to put it underground.
Project insiders said such an unwanted situation could have been avoided, if the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) could play its due role. The DTCA should keep its eye open and coordinate with the concerned agencies during any development project implementation by others along the corridor, they added.
Earlier, the DMRTD project identified the job of relocating different utility lines by 2016 as a big challenge, as more than 12 government and private agencies are involved in installing the lines underground and overhead along the MRT-6 corridor.
The project office already formed a committee comprising different ministries to work on drawing up a plan for relocating the utility lines, as these agencies even have no clear idea about where their lines are located. A recent meeting decided to dig at some points to locate the lines and then take the next decisions.
On the other hand, due to an unavoidable situation the tender procedure on the depot land development work has been delayed by six months.
According to the project's Japanese consultants and the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), heavy-pressure work would be needed to ascertain the depot land is suitable for piling and make sure it resistant to earthquake. This recommendation necessitates the project to take mitigation measures.
The DMRTD project has identified three structures, including a three-storied building of the Milestone College within 19 metres of the depot land. Now they need to be either demolished or shifted elsewhere from the area.
Under the DMRTD project, 24 trains having six coaches each will run from Uttara to Motijheel carrying more than 30,000 passengers per hour. They will touch at 16 stations and cross the 20km corridor in 36 minutes. The JICA is providing $2.1 billion for the consultancy and construction purposes, including procurement and construction supervision until 2024.
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