Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh on Wednesday inaugurated the construction of Dhaka city inter-district bus terminal at Kanchpur.
Once the construction is completed, services at the Sayedabad inter-district bus terminal will be relocated to Kanchpur within six months. After that, the Sayedabad Bus Terminal will be used as a terminal for “Intra-City Urban Transport” buses only.
The DSCC mayor said, “As part of a decision made by the Bus Route Rationalisation Committee to make the public transport management in Dhaka city disciplined, we inaugurated the construction of Dhaka City Inter-District Bus Terminal in Kanchpur.
“It has been a long wait. After 1984, no inter-district bus terminal was built. The Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges has given 12.5 acres of land in Kanchpur. Once the terminal is built, inter-district bus services to 16 districts of Chattogram and Sylhet divisions will be operated from here.”
The DSCC is building the terminal with its own funds, and it will take the responsibility to operate it, he added.
Taposh further said, “In the initial phase, mud filling, construction of boundary wall, bus entry and exit, and accommodation for workers will be completed. The initial phase of the work will cost Tk 28 crore.
“We are hopeful that the initial phase of work will be completed in the next six months.”
Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association General Secretary Khandkar Enayet Ullah said, “Terminals should be removed from Dhaka city in phases. It is the first initiative under the programme.
“If the new terminal is built here, transportations to some of those districts will be operated from here. We will provide maximum support in this regard.”
Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority Executive Director Sabiha Parveen, told reporters that 11,000 buses from 16 districts travel to and from the Sayedabad Inter-District Bus Terminal.
“If these buses do not enter the Dhaka metropolitan city area, the traffic congestion will go down by 30 per cent. It will be a big milestone,” she added.
The government had taken a decision to shift the Gabtoli terminal to Savar, Mohakhali terminal to Tongi in Gazipur, Sayedabad terminal to Kanchpur and Fulbaria and Babubazar terminals to Keraniganj.
On completion of relocation of the four bus-terminals, new intra-city bus terminals will be established at Gabtoli, Mohakhali, Sayedabad, Fulbaria, Mirpur Section-12, Bosila of Mohammadpur and Sadarghat for the buses plying on city streets.
