BANGLADESH (Metro Rail News): Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister, inaugurated the construction of the nation’s first underground metro rail just a month after inaugurating the metro rail from Uttara’s Diabari to Agargaon. Addressing a civic rally at sector four at Purbachal of Pitalganj in Rupganj of Narayanganj district, the prime minister unveiled the plaque of the Mass Rapid Transit Line-1.
Accompanying Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on December 28, when she unveiled the plaque for the 11.73 km portion of the Mass Rapid Transit Line-6 from Diabari to Agargaon, were Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Textile and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi, Dhaka North City Mayor Atiqul Islam, Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh IWAMA Kiminori, Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, and Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited Managing Director MAN Siddique.
The government plans to finish construction of the MRT Line-1, which will have both underground and elevated sections, from the Airport to Kamalapur and Purbachal to Natun Bazar, by 2026 at an estimated cost of Tk 52,561.43 crore. In total, six metro rail routes are expected to be put into service in Dhaka by 2030.
The MRT Line-1 is to be constructed in two parts – the Airport route, an underground 19.872km line with 12 stations, and the Purbachal route, an 11.37km elevated line with seven stations Natun Bazar and Nadda will be underground.
The Bangladesh government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency will cover the project’s costs, amounting to Tk 52,561.43 crore, of which the JICA will contribute Tk 39,450.32 crore and the government will pay Tk 13,111.11 crore. A Japanese firm-led consortium will be responsible for constructing the Airport-Kamalapur-Purbachal metro line.
Per the project, the journey from Airport to Kamalapur along the MRT Line-1 will take 24 minutes and 30 seconds, with 12 stops at underground stations.
With seven stops, the trip from Natun Bazar to Purbachal will take 20 minutes and 35 seconds. Passengers can reach Purbachal from Kamalapur with an interchange in Natun Bazar in only 40 minutes and 16 stops. Once the MRT Line 1 is launched, it will be able to transport eight lakh passengers daily.
