In a bid to implement quickly the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development project, better known as the metro rail, two tenders would be floated this year, said Md Mofazzal Hossain, the project director.
He said: “The tender for the procurement of rolling stock (coach and locomotive) and equipment of depot will be floated in October while the tender for the engineering and management system will be floated in November this year.”
He made the disclosure while addressing a press conference at the seminar room of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) in the capital on Thursday afternoon.
Earlier on January 31, the first tender for the per-qualification of rolling stock (coach and locomotive) and equipment of the Uttara depot for the much-expected 20-km-long metro railway project was floated.
While the second tender for the pre-qualification of the engineering and management system was floated in March this year.
More than 10 companies submitted their organisations' profile for selection.
On January 26, an amended Metro Rail Bill 2015 was passed in the parliament to curb traffic jam by ensuring quick and improved transport services in the capital.
The first phase of construction of the metro railway would be finished by December 2019, while the whole project would be completed by 2024.
The metro rail project, the country’s second-largest infrastructure project after the Padma bridge project, has faced complexities in the last few years over modification of routes following objections from the air force and to avoid overlapping with the Gulistan-Jatrabari flyover.
The trains will run from Uttara to Motijheel via Pallabi, the west side of Rokeya Sarani and Farmgate, Hotel Sonargaon, Hotel Ruposhi Bangla, TSC of Dhaka University, Doel Chattar and Topkhana Road. The routes would be be extended up to Sayedabad from Bangladesh Bank through Atish Dipankar Road.
According to a Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) study, the trains will operate every three minutes and carry 60,000 passengers an hour.
Jica has committed to provide Tk16,594.59 crore for the project, while the Bangladesh government will allocate Tk5,390.48 crore.
A Japanese consortium is now working on the detailed design of the project. It is also carrying out topographical, traffic and geo-technical surveys in different parts of the project.