New metro rail tracks: Questions over priority set by AL government

Questions have been raised anew regarding the priorities set by the ousted Awami League government for the construction of new metro rail tracks to curb traffic congestion in the city.

It’s being said now that the track which should be constructed first is in the last on the priority list. Apart from that, the estimated cost for the construction of the new metro rail tracks also stirred questions.

The officials of the concerned ministries said the priority list for new Metro Rail tracks was set to benefit a special group. Common people’s interest was not considered in this case. Even the route set for the construction is wrong.

Experts say the priority list for the new metro rail tracks should be reconsidered now after the regime change. Besides, the estimated cost for the construction should be reviewed.

The roads and bridges ministry started works to set priorities for the construction of new metro rail tracks.

Adviser for the roads and bridges ministry, Fouzul Kabir Khan said the existing priority list would be reviewed.

Mainly the MRT Line -5 has raised questions. It was supposed to be constructed from Gabtoli to Dasherkandi through Technical intersection, Kalyanpur, Shyamoli, College Gate, Asad Gate, Rasel Square, Karwan Bazar, Hatirjheel, Tejgaon, Aftabnagar, Aftabnagar Centre, Aftabnagar East and Nasirabad.

The relevant officials say the MRT Line-2 should be prioritised over the Line-5 (southern route). The Line-2 was supposed to carry passengers from Gabtoli to Narayanganj through Dhaka Udyan, Mohammadpur, Jigatala, Science Laboratory, New Market, Azimpur, Palashi, Dhaka Medical College, Gulistan, Motijheel, Kamalapur. The Line-2 project also includes the construction of a branch line from Gulistan to Sadarghat.

The planning commission says the project for Line-2 is far more important than the MRT Line-5 project. However, the project has been kept in the last slot of the priority list. There isn’t any notable progress in this project whereas the feasibility study for the Line-5 project is already completed. Even the technical design and the procurement plan have been finalised.

The planning commission officials are saying there are not that many commercial or industrial zones in the areas along the route of Line-5. Besides, the route is quite close to Line-6, which is already in service. The residents of areas from Gabtoli to Asad Gate can get the services of this line within a distance of one or two kilometres.

However, the construction of Line-2 would have benefitted more people. Therefore, it is more reasonable to implement the proposed project for the construction of Line-2 first; which connects several most densely populated areas of the city, including New Market, Dhanmondi and Old Dhaka.

Planning commission sources said an inter ministerial meeting was held at the commission in April last year on constructing the MRT Line-2 before the MRT Line-5. But the officials did not bring the matter to the fore out of fear as the government had prioritised the construction of MRT Line-5.

Once again the issue of prioritising has come to the fore due to the changed situation.

The then planning commission secretary Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian chaired the meeting. Now he is the agriculture secretary.

He told Prothom Alo the metro rail routes should be scrutinised more in this changed context. Priority should be given to the route considering the people’s needs.

Documents said the former Awami League government composed a strategic transport plan (STP) to curb the traffic congestion in Dhaka city and surrounding areas. Decision was taken to construct six MRT lines. Following this, the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) was formed in 2013 to plan the metro rail’s network, survey, design, financing, construction and running and maintenance.

The Uttara-Agargaon section of MRT Line-6 was opened for passenger movement on 29 December in 2022. The Agargaon-Motijheel part was opened on 5 November 2023.

The length of MRT Line-5 is 17.2 km. According to the DMTCL, the estimated cost for the MRT Line-5 is Tk 546.18 billion.

The project was sent to the planning commission for approval but the AL government fell before the approval. On the other hand, the estimated cost for the construction of MRT Line-2 is Tk 608.36 billion.

In the changed situation, the planning commission wrote a letter to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges on 23 September, saying that the MRT Line-5 project should be thoroughly re-scrutinised and reviewed considering the current context and priorities and take further action.

After receiving the letter, the ministry held an inter-ministerial meeting in the first week of this month and discussed which line should be given priority. Many spoke about rethinking metro rail’s new line.

Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, adviser to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, told Prothom Alo, “A new managing director (MD) for the metro rail is being sought. The entire metro rail line will be reviewed after the appointment of the new MD. It will be discussed then which one should be given priority.”

Fouzul Kabir Khan also said that the previous government had taken projects on whim, where the advantages and disadvantages of the people were not considered. There were their own interests. But now priority will be determined considering what will benefit the people more.

No analysis was done to determine the priority of routes of the six MRT lines, documents said.

The relevant officials said that the survey of all the lines should have been done together. But the survey was conducted at different times. Besides, there is no alternative proposal for each route.

The planning commission has said only constructing the metro rail will not be enough, it was not studied before whether it would be financially beneficial or not.

It further said the STP was done based on assumptions. Current economic situation is completely different from what it was at that time. Currently, the economic situation of the country is nearly out of control. A fresh survey should be done taking this reality into consideration and priorities should be fixed based on that.

The planning commission said it is suggested to hold a meeting with technical experts, concerned ministries and other stakeholders before the construction of MRT Line-5.

Wishing not to be named, an official of the commission told Prothom Alo that priority was given to the construction of the metro rail line in Dasherkandi and Aftabnagar areas to provide benefits to a certain group. Commercial and residential areas have not yet developed there.

The officials requested to find out why priority was given to Dasherkandi route excluding areas like Gulistan, Sadarghat and New Market.

Professor of civil engineering department at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), M. Shamsul Hoque told Prothom Alo that all the metro rail lines should be reviewed anew. In particular, how the cost of constructing these lines has been estimated should be checked, because it is possible to construct a modern version of metro rail at a lower cost than this.

He said many countries including China and Indonesia are doing it.

Shamsul Hoque advised the interim government to review all metro rail lines.