Dhaka city will now have six metro-rail corridors instead of the previously designed five, as the government has decided to divide mass rapid transit (MRT)-5 line into two lines, sources said.
Earlier, five metro-rail corridors - MRT-1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 - were proposed in the city's 20-year revised strategic transport plan (RSTP).
Of these proposed routes, MRT-5 will now be separated as MRT-5 North and MRT-5 South, the sources also said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has recently directed the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) to split it, as the proposed corridor is quite long and the project cannot be implemented at a time.
The DMTCL completed feasibility study of MRT-5 North with the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2017.
The MRT-5 South is now at the feasibility study stage with the financial aid of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The sources, meanwhile, said the government initially planned to implement MRT-5 in coordination between the JICA and the ADB. But, one of the development partners expressed unwillingness to implement it under a single project.
They also said MRT-5 North and South cannot be integrated, as these two lines are totally separated, and trains on the lines will also be operated separately.
According to the JICA feasibility study, 13-kilometre-long MRT-5 North is proposed to be constructed on Hemayetpur - Gabtoli - Banani - Notun Bazar route in both underground and elevated ways with 14 stations.
On the other hand, MRT-5 South is proposed on Gabtoli - Dhanmondi - Panthopath - Aftabnagar route, according to the ADB study.
At present, MRT-6 from Uttara to Motijheel is under construction.
Of the other MRTs, the 30-km MRT-1 is now at design stage. It is proposed to be constructed from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) to Kamlapur through Progoti Soroni with an extension towards Purbachal from Kuril.
The DMTCL is now working to implement MRT-2 under public private partnership (PPP) arrangement, as proposed by the PPP Authority and the Japanese government.
However, there is no progress regarding construction of MRT-4.
The RSTP proposed to construct five MRT lines and two Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines for greater Dhaka city to manage 19 per cent of its 30 million daily trips.
All the under-implementation MRTs are funded by the JICA, except MRT-5 South.
The ADB has been providing necessary supports for implementing the first BRT line, being planned from Gazipur to the HSIA since 2013. Later, it joined in the MRT construction project in 2017.
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