Commuters will be able to utlise the metro rail service from Uttara to Motijheel by October this year, as the under-construction Agargaon-Motijheel section will be inaugurated that month, said Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate this section, as she did it for the Uttara-Agargaon section too, Quader said while speaking at a branding seminar titled “Start of Operation of MRT 6 from Agargaon to Motijheel" Progress, Prospect and Beyond” on Sunday.
At the same event, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd (DMTCL) Managing Director MAN Siddique said, “Ninety-five per cent work in the Agargaon-Motijheel section has already been completed. The remaining work includes the completion of the entry and exit of the stations.
DMTCL will start a trial run of the train on Agargaon-Motijheel section of MRT-6 in July. Construction progress at the Motijheel-Kamalapur section stands at 5.37 per cent, and it is expected to be inaugurated in June 2025, Quader stated.
Speaking to the occasion, Chief Representative of JICA Bangladesh Office Ichiguchi Tomohide said, “Dhaka Metro Rail is one of our most successful projects. This is a unique example of Bangladesh-Japan mutual trust and friendship.
“It is really challenging to complete such a project in such a densely populated city like Dhaka. All kinds of cooperation of JICA in Bangladesh will continue in the future as well.”
Engineers from the DMTCL will be able to visit Japan every year, and all technical support from JICA will also continue, he added.
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori said, “The MRT Line-6 from Agargaon to Motijheel is another important Bangladesh-Japan joint project. This proves how closely Japan-Bangladesh is involved in the communication sector.
“It will play a major role in improving the quality of life of the people of Dhaka. Japan will continue to cooperate in the development of Bangladesh in the future and various projects will be undertaken based on a win-win situation.”
Mayors of two city corporations of Dhaka, Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri spoke at the event among others.
