Port city one step closer to metro rail

The port city Chattogram is all set to get one step closer to metro rail as South Korea is likely to start feasibility studies for the project from February.

The feasibility study will be commenced at the port city on January 31 through a ceremony where officials of both countries will be present. The Korean consultants of the project will arrive in Bangladesh ahead of the inauguration ceremony soon.

Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) will conduct the feasibility studies as well as prepare a transport master plan for the port city in two years. Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) will coordinate and supervise the project scheduled to be completed by June in 2025.

Sources at the DTCA said Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader will be present at the inception ceremony as the chief guest.

“The feasibility studies will be conducted on metro rail only. The master plan will be prepared based on several studies on what type of transportation modes should be introduced and which construction plans should be made to ensure smooth transportation by reducing traffic congestions in the port city,” said Mir Muhammand Kamrul Hasan, traffic engineer of the DTCA.

In December last year, Bangladesh and South Korea signed an agreement to launch the project on preparing the transport master plan and the feasibility study. The project will be completed in coordination with the DTCA, Road Transport and Highways Division, and the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry. The DTCA will oversee the work progress.

The total cost of the feasibility and master plan is Tk 70.63 crore while KOICA will provide Tk 51 crore as a grant and the rest will be provided by the Bangladesh government.

KOICA Country Director Doh Young-ah said the master plan will recommend a road management system that will minimise travel time and the number of road accidents, resulting in the much-needed improvement of the country's road conditions.

The project will also solve current challenges and make positive contributions to the mass transit sector in the country, he added.

In January last year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at an Ecnec meeting called for a metro rail from Chattogram airport to the city's railway station. After a few months South Korea came up with a proposal of investment for the metro rail in Chattogram on the basis of public-private partnership (PPP).

According to a pre-qualification survey report, the port city may get three MRT lines of total 54 kilometers. The 16-kilometer long MRT Line-1 may be constructed from Kalurghat to the airport, comprising of 20 stations, a 13 kilometers long line-2 from City Gate to Shah Amanat Bridge with 12 stations, and Line-3 from Firingibazar and Panchlaish to AK Khan Gate with a length of 14 kilometers and 15 stations.