Home ›› 09 Mar 2022 ›› Front
The government has sought Tk 3081 crore from Japan International Cooperation Agency to construct 1.17-kilometre expanded metro rail line from Motijheel to Kamlapur Railway Station.
The Road Transport and Bridges Ministry has sent the revised development project proposal (DPP) to the Planning Commission seeking additional Tk 11,486 crore and 1.5 more years to implement the project up to Kamlapur, a senior official of the Planning Ministry told The Business Post.
Of the total, Tk 5,774.81 crore will be spent on land acquisition from Motijheel to Kamlapur, civil works (Motijheel to Kamlapur) costing Tk 714.56 crore , consultancy fee Tk 135 crore, and electricity bill Tk 200 crore, according to project proposal.
Now the cost of the project is estimated at Tk 33,471 crore, of which Tk 19675 crore will come from JICA and Tk 13,796 crore from the government exchequer.
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited will implement the project by December 2025, according to the project proposal.
Initially, the project cost from Uttara to Motijheel was estimated at Tk 21,985 crore. Of the amount, Tk 1,6595 crore was supposed to be from JICA while the rest of the fund from the government exchequer. The official also said the project evaluation committee will sit in a meeting on the project.
However, the Economic Relations Division (ERD) will send the proposal to JICA seeking the additional fund for the expanded route of the metro rail after finalising the revised project proposal.
A senior official of ERD said the government has taken steps to revise the DPP after getting the green signal from Japan.
“We will send the project proposal after getting the nod of the Planning Commission. Japan is very keen to invest in Bangladesh’s development projects,” he added.
About the matter, Member of the Physical Infrastructure Division of the Planning Commission Mamun Al Rashid said the PEC meeting of the project will be held soon with the presence of ERD official.
“We will evaluate the DPP whether it is reasonable to increase the cost and time. If it is okay, then we will send it to the ECNEC for approval,” he added.
The work of 11.73-kilometre rail track installation from Uttara to Agargaon is going on in full swing. The government has planned to inaugurate the Uttara-Agargaon portion of the Metro Rail in December this year, while the Agargaon-Motijheel area in December, next year.
The reasons of revising project are land acquisition, changes in the construction designs for transit-oriented development, power consumption of train operation and elevators, construction of escalators and stairs at the station as well as sidewalks, consultancy expenditure and ancillary activities, according to the proposal.
According to the project, there will be 16 stations from Uttara to Motijheel. Now a new station will be built at Kamalapur.
Station locations are Uttara North, Uttara Center, Uttara South, Pallabi, Mirpur-11, Mirpur-10, Kazipara, Shewrapara, Agargaon, Bijay Sarani, Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Shahbag, Dhaka University, Bangladesh Secretariat and Motijheel.
More than 60,000 passengers per hour will be carried from both sides with waiting time of approximately 43 seconds. JICA agreed to finance the project at 0.01 per cent interest payable in a period of 40 years, sources said.
