POBNEWS24, Dhaka, June 16, 2022 : Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) is going to start work on the country’s first subway by next September. It will be known as Metro Rail Line-1 or MRT-1. However, work on the Metro Rail (MRT) was scheduled to begin in July this year.
In Metro Rail Line-1, the railway line from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Kamalapur will be underground and the flyover from Natunbazar to the airport will be.
The cost of the MRT-1 project, which is to be constructed with this 31.24 km flyover and subway, has been estimated at Tk 52,561 crore. The company has set a target to complete its construction by 2026.
DMTCL organized a seminar on ‘Progress and Feasibility of MRT Line-6 and Licensing of MRT Line-1’ at Bangabandhu International Conference Center in the capital on Wednesday. This information was given at the press conference at the end of the program.
At the press conference, DMTCL Managing Director MAN Siddique said that the field level work of MRT-1 will start in the first quarter (July-September) of the next financial year. Permission has been sought from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to start the main construction work of the subway depot. Work will start if their permission is obtained. The Prime Minister will then inaugurate the construction work. In the first package, depot land development and ancillary infrastructure will be constructed. The whole project will be completed in 12 packages.
Although DMTCL is working on this subway, another subway network has been set up under the bridge department. Two organizations are doing similar work. In response to a question from Kaler Kantho, MAN Siddique said, “We have no shortage of qualifications. Even the people of our organization will work abroad to build the metro rail. If the bridge department wants, it will be discussed and coordinated. ‘
Meanwhile, the country’s first metro train will run from Uttara to Agargaon next December. The overall average progress of construction of this metro rail line-6 has been 80.10 percent.
At a seminar on the progress and feasibility of MRT Line-6, the managing director of DMTCL said that work on six MRT lines will be completed by 2030. When the work of these six lines is completed, about 5 million passengers will be transported in the metro rail every day. According to various sources, the traffic congestion in the Dhaka metropolis and its impact is causing an annual loss of about 3.6 billion US dollars or about 33 thousand 6 crore rupees at the current rate.
Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation said, “MRT is a gift from the Prime Minister to the people of Dhaka. If this MRT is introduced, the traffic congestion will be reduced to a great extent, but it will not be reduced completely. We have to solve this traffic jam through transit oriented development. More benefits can be reaped if the stakeholders are coordinated during the planning process. ‘
Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor. Atiqul Islam said, “For the welfare of the Prime Minister, the dream Padma Bridge will be launched in only 10 days, Metro Rail will be launched in only 180 days and after 6,935 days Bangladesh will be a developed country. With the launch of Metro Rail, there will be a revolutionary change in the communication system of Dhaka. We need to keep in mind that we have to plan for the development of the metro rail-centric way of life. ‘
