Home ›› 23 Mar 2022 ›› Back

Bangladesh Railway to procure 200 coaches

Staff Correspondent
23 Mar 2022 00:00:00 | Update: 23 Mar 2022 05:40:07
Bangladesh Railway to procure 200 coaches
There are 467 broad gauge carriages in the railway at present –Shamsul Haque Ripon

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday approved a Tk 1,704.33 crore project to procure 200 modern broad-gauge passenger coaches, to facilitate safer and hassle-free train journeys for commuters.

The Bangladesh Railway will procure these passengers coaches from the international market, mentions the project proposal.

This approval came from the ECNEC meeting held at NEC conference room with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair – who participated in the meeting virtually from her official Ganabhaban residence.

After the meeting, attended by ministers, state ministers, and planning commission members and secretaries, Planning Minister MA Mannan told reporters that a total of 12 projects have been approved involving an overall estimated cost of Tk 15,744.56 crore.

“Of the total project cost, Tk 11,674.83 crore will come from the government exchequer, Tk 1.20 crore from the respective organizations’ own fund, while the rest of Tk 4,068.53 crore from project assistance.”

Of the approved 12 projects, 11 are new, and only one is a revised project.

“The Bangladesh Railway will implement this project by June 2025. Once implemented, it will help increase the revenue income of the railway,” said Mannan.

The cost of the project is estimated at Tk 1704.33 crore, of which Tk 1331.19 crore will come from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Tk 373.13 crore from the government exchequer, he said.

Currently, there are 467 broad gauge carriages in the railway. Of them, 176 carriages have already broken down due to end of service life.

The 200 new coaches will run mainly through the western zone as most broad gauge tracks are laid in that particular area of the country. The railway will run the rail coaches in broad gauge and dual gauge lines of Dhaka, Rajshahi, Khulna and Rangpur divisions.

The other projects approved in the meeting are Supplying water through harvesting of rainwater in coastal districts with Tk 961.76 crore, Establishment of Air Force Training Institute at Zahurul Haque Base in Chattogram, 1st revised with an additional cost of Tk 140.42 crore, Project for Improvement of Governance and Management Research and Training Facilities with Tk 228.08 crore, Upgrading three regional highways and three district highways into due standard and width under Naogaon Road Department with Tk 1,182.49 crore, Establishment of external telecommunication network for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant with Tk 378.84 crore, Establishment of seed multiplication farm at south eastern region of Bangladesh with Tk 438.93 crore, Expansion of irrigation area and irrigation capacity through expansion of underground irrigation channels and introduction of drip irrigation system on test basis with Tk 329.01 crore, Improvement of universal social infrastructures-2 (GSIDP-2) with Tk 1,082 crore, Construction of important bridges on rural roads, 2nd phase with Tk 4,050 crore and Important upazila and Union road widening and strengthening in Barishal Division with Tk 2,693.43 crore.

×