Metro rail: What message does the removal of the MD convey?
DMTCL managing director Faruk Ahmed was removed last Monday. He was dismissed at a time when he was putting pressure on lenders, contractors, and consultants to reduce project costs.
The government has removed Faruk Ahmed from the post of Managing Director (MD) of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), the company that operates the metro rail.
Faruk Ahmed, who had experience in metro rail construction and operations in various countries, was appointed by the interim government through an international recruitment notice.
He was the first specialist to head DMTCL. Previously, only bureaucrats had held the post.
After assuming office on 17 February, the BNP government has been making changes in different sectors. In some cases, both the changes and the process have raised questions. One such case is the MD position at DMTCL, from which Faruk Ahmed was removed on Monday. He was dismissed at a time when he was putting pressure on lenders, contractors, and consultants to reduce project costs.
Faruk Ahmed had been appointed in February last year for a three-year term. After one year, the government cancelled his appointment.
On Tuesday, additional secretary Anisur Rahman of the road transport ministry was given additional charge as MD of DMTCL. This appointment signals that a specialised institution like DMTCL may once again be run by bureaucrats.
DMTCL was established in 2013 as a company to build and operate the metro rail system. The intention was to enable it to function efficiently and sustain itself through its own revenue, rather than becoming inefficient and financially weak like many other government entities.
However, from the outset, the then Awami League government began appointing bureaucrats to its top post. In the past, DMTCL was led mainly by secretaries or additional secretaries. Before Faruk Ahmed, acting MD was additional secretary Abdur Rouf, and former secretary MAN Siddique served for nearly eight years.
On Tuesday, additional secretary Anisur Rahman of the road transport ministry was given additional charge as MD of DMTCL. This appointment signals that a specialised institution like DMTCL may once again be run by bureaucrats.
Although Japanese consultants had recommended in 2013 that a professional with at least 20 years of experience and technical expertise be appointed as MD, this recommendation was long ignored in practice.
In 2017, after retiring from the road transport ministry, MAN Siddique was appointed MD, and the rules were later amended to legitimise his appointment. The eligibility criteria were revised to include “retired secretaries,” effectively keeping the institution under a bureaucratic structure.
Following the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August 2024 amid the July mass uprising, the interim government for the first time issued an international call to appoint an MD for DMTCL.
A total of 76 candidates from home and abroad applied. A panel of experts led by the vice-chancellor of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) selected Faruk Ahmed for the position.
Before becoming MD, Faruk Ahmed had 37 years of experience in major infrastructure construction and operations across different countries, including 25 years in metro rail and transport infrastructure. He had worked in Australia, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong, most recently in India.
He had said that he joined in Bangladesh at one-fifteenth of the salary he received in India, driven by a desire to work in his home country.
What did he achieve in one year?
During the July uprising, the Mirpur 10 and Kazipara metro stations were vandalised. Before being ousted, the Awami League government had said it could take a year and cost around Tk 3.5 billion to reopen the two stations.
Under the interim government, DMTCL sought Faruk Ahmed’s advice (before formally appointing him as MD) on how to reopen the stations quickly.
Recently the DMTCL managing director had refused to accept substandard materials from contractors, compelled them to replace inferior supplies, and pressured them to fix identified defects. Contractors were reportedly unhappy with him for this. JICA was also not fully aligned with his aggressive cost-cutting efforts.Shamsul Haque, Professor, BUET’s civil engineering department
Following his suggestions, some equipment was relocated from other stations and facilities, and certain items were procured locally. As a result, both stations reopened within three months at a cost of about Tk 20 million.
The previous government had also begun negotiations to appoint contractors for rail tracks, electrical systems, signaling, and other works for the Motijheel-to-Kamalapur metro extension. Japanese firm Marubeni and India’s Larsen & Toubro had proposed a cost of about Tk 6.51 billion.
Through negotiations under the Awami League government, the cost was reduced to Tk 6.34 billion. After assuming office, Faruk Ahmed reopened negotiations and eventually brought the cost down to Tk 4.65 billion—saving an additional Tk 1.69 billion.
During the interim government’s tenure, a bearing pad from the metro structure fell at Farmgate, killing one person. An investigation found flaws in construction and design.
Even before that, DMTCL under Faruk Ahmed had identified 45 types of defects and shortcomings along the Uttara–Motijheel metro line, including issues in signaling, electrical systems, infrastructure, and train operations. A 63-page report detailed these flaws.
DMTCL managed to pressure the Japanese contractor to fix some of them, though others remain unresolved. Some equipment had not been supplied according to contract terms, and steps were taken to recover those as well. It was amid these efforts that the government changed DMTCL’s leadership.
Will the effort to reduce costs continue?
Infrastructure construction costs in Bangladesh, including metro rail, are widely considered very high, as highlighted in various reports. The Awami League government faced significant criticism over these high costs.
The previous government had launched two separate projects to build two metro rail lines in Dhaka, with a total approved cost of Tk 938 billion. However, if awarded according to contractors’ bid proposals, the total cost would rise to Tk 1.84 trillion.
Faruk Ahmed was tasked with identifying the causes of this abnormal cost escalation and reducing it. He held a series of meetings with the Japanese development agency Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), contractors, and consultants, attempting to cut costs through negotiations.
In this context, professor Shamsul Haque of BUET’s civil engineering department and a major project expert said that since metro rail is new to Bangladesh, the interim government had gone beyond the bureaucracy to appoint someone with practical technical expertise as MD.
“Results were becoming visible. But cancelling his appointment signals a return to the old pattern,” he said.
Professor Shamsul Haque added that recently the DMTCL managing director had refused to accept substandard materials from contractors, compelled them to replace inferior supplies, and pressured them to fix identified defects. Contractors were reportedly unhappy with him for this. JICA was also not fully aligned with his aggressive cost-cutting efforts. Whether these factors played a role in the cancellation of his appointment remains a question.