The inauguration of the construction of the country's first underground Metro Rail Mass Rapid Transit Line-1 (MRT-1) is going to take place on February 2 instead of January 26.
The inauguration ceremony will be held in an open space next to Janata High School in Brahmankhali, Rupganj. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the construction work of MRT-1 depot at Pitalganj in Purbachal.
MRT-1 Project Director Md Abul Kasem Bhunya confirmed the information to Bangla Tribune.
ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, secretary of the Road Transport and Highways Division, had earlier said the underground metro line will have two parts: around 19.87 kilometres from Dhaka airport, which includes 16.4 kilometres underground, and around 11.36 kilometres that are elevated from Notun Bazar to Purbachal.
It will take 24 minutes to travel from Dhaka airport to Kamalapur, with breaks at 12 underground stations along the route, and 20 minutes to travel from Notun Bazar to Purbachal, with breaks at seven stations.
Authorities had said that MRT Line-1 underground stations will have three floors. The ticket counter and other facilities will be located on the first basement level.
The platform will be on the second level. The ticket counter and platform for the elevated station will be on the third floor. Both the elevated and underground stations will have lifts, stairs, and escalators.
The DMTCL signed contracts with Japan's Tokyo Construction Company Limited and Bangladesh's Max Infrastructure Limited for the project. The project will be implemented in 12 packages.
An agreement was signed with a consulting firm on October 23, 2012, to supervise the construction of MRT Line 1. Another agreement was signed for package CP-1, related to the construction of the depot, on November 23, 2022.
A total of 12.9725 acres of land in Pitalganj and Brahmankhali Mauza of Rupganj upazila of Narayanganj have been acquired for the construction of the depot and depot access corridor of MRT-1. A total of Tk140 crore were given as compensation.