Tk 260 million wasted on moving Sayedabad terminal to reduce traffic congestion

After extensive discussions to address traffic congestion in the capital, a decision was made to relocate the Sayedabad inter-district bus terminal. The new site was chosen across the Kanchpur Bridge in Sonargaon upazila of Narayanganj.

According to the plan, the new terminal was scheduled to open in June last year. Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has already spent approximately Tk 260 million on the project.

However, uncertainty now looms over whether the terminal will actually be moved from Sayedabad to Kanchpur.

Following the change in government, the project’s implementation has come to a halt. Work on shifting the terminal has been stalled since 5 August 2023.

The Bus Route Rationalisation Committee had initially decided to build the new terminal in Kanchpur to ensure that buses from 16 districts in the Chattogram and Sylhet divisions would no longer enter Sayedabad.

According to the plan, long-distance passengers would disembark at Kanchpur and transfer to city transport buses to reach their final destinations. This was expected to ease traffic congestion in Sayedabad, Jatrabari, and surrounding areas.

Rajib Khadem, Superintendent Engineer of the Dhaka South City Traffic Engineering Circle, told Prothom Alo that the Sayedabad Bus Terminal has become ineffective. “It is crucial to relocate it to address traffic congestion,” he said, urging the government to take immediate action.

According to the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA), about 11,000 buses from 16 districts travel through the Sayedabad Terminal every day. Officials believe that if these buses are kept out of the city, traffic congestion in Dhaka could be reduced by as much as 30 per cent.

Dhaka South City officials stated that soil filling on 12.5 acres of land belonging to the Roads and Highways Department at the new terminal site began in August last year and has already been completed.

Work to install poles around the terminal to prevent soil erosion also began. However, since the change in government, progress on the project has nearly come to a halt.

On 21 March, it was observed that although the land filling has been completed, no construction work was taking place at the site. According to local residents, the area becomes a hotspot for crime in the evenings, with vagrants and addicts engaging in various illegal activities, including drug consumption.

Meanwhile, in addition to Sayedabad, traffic jams are spreading across much of the capital as buses bound for Chattogram and Sylhet depart from areas such as Fakirapul, Motijheel, Kamalapur, Malibagh, and Maniknagar. Officials from the Traffic Engineering Circle believe the situation could have been somewhat alleviated had the Kanchpur terminal been operational.

However, communication experts argue that simply opening a terminal in Kanchpur will not solve the traffic jam issue. They point out that the lack of an efficient, franchise-based public transport system in Dhaka means that passengers will still have to rely on motorcycles, CNG run autorickshaws, or other forms of transport to reach their destinations within the city. This could potentially worsen the traffic congestion, rather than ease it.

Experts argue that the new terminal should be located in an area with easy access to the metro rail, allowing passengers to seamlessly enter the city. Additionally, they emphasise that the project will not be effective unless a long-term strategy, such as a franchise-based bus service, is implemented. Given these concerns, they view the funds already spent on the Kanchpur terminal as a “waste.”

Buses from various districts outside the Chattogram and Sylhet divisions, crossing the Padma Bridge, continue to operate from Sayedabad and nearby areas. Plans were in place to build another terminal in the Baghair area of Keraniganj for these buses, but the project has been stalled due to challenges in land acquisition.

Experts maintain that this initiative will not yield results unless there is a comprehensive, long-term plan alongside the relocation of the terminal to tackle the broader issue of traffic congestion in the capital.

Professor Md Hadiuzzaman, a communication expert and former director of BUET’s Accident Research Institute, told Prothom Alo that the feasibility study for the Kanchpur terminal relocation project contains several flaws. “Resolving traffic congestion cannot be achieved by focusing solely on terminals,” he said. “We need a coordinated approach to manage the flow of traffic into and out of Dhaka.”