MRT Line 1, the country’s first underground metro rail line, is finally gearing up for construction more than a year after work on it was scheduled to be inaugurated.
The Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) will confirm the route alignment of the metro rail line to the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) at a licence handover ceremony today. Road Transport and Bridges Division Minister Obaidul Quader will be present on the occasion as chief guest.
The government aims to begin construction of MRT Line 1 in mid-August. The line will run from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Kamalapur.
“The project will be implemented under 12 packages, of which land development at the depot will be the first one. Work on the depot will begin by mid-August,” said Md A Alim Khan, project manager of MRT Line 1.
“Land acquisition for the depot is almost done. The process of appointing a contractor is at the final stage,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
Physical work on MRT Line 1 had originally been planned to start in December 2020, but it was deferred to June 2021 and then again by another year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and design conflicts with other mega projects.
According to an internal report on MRT line 1, the progress of the detailed design is at 97%, while the progress of land acquisition was at 94% as of May 31.
Project officials said a deal will be signed with the contractor for land development work by July.
The depot will be built on 92.97 acres of land at the Pitalganj and Brammonkhali areas in Narayangaj’s Rupganj.
A consultant for supervision of the project will be appointed by July as DMTCL, the implementing agency, has already received a no objection certificate from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).
Benefit of MRT line 1
The 31.24km MRT Line-1 will have two parts — around 19.87km from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Kamalapur with 16.4km underground, and around 11.36km that is elevated from Notun Bazar to Purbachal. The Notun Bazar station will serve as an interchange.
Once the underground line is up and running, trains will move at 90kmph and be able to carry 800,000 passengers daily.
It will take only 24 minutes to travel from Dhaka airport to Kamalapur, apart from breaks at 12 underground stations on the route (Dhaka airport, Kuril, Natunbazar, Badda, Rampura, Malibagh, Rajarbag, and Kamalapur).
A total of 25 trains, each of which will carry 3,088 passengers, will operate on the route.
Travel on the elevated part through the Purbachal route will take 20 minutes, with the trains moving at 100kmph apart from the breaks at seven stations.
There will be a 2.5-minute break between each train on the Airport-Kamalapur route, and the waiting time between trains on the Notun Bazar-Purbachal route will be 4.4 minutes.
Stations
Under the plan, the Airport-Kamalapur route will have 12 underground stations — at Terminal-3 of the airport, Khilkhet, Jamuna Future Park, Notun Bazar, Uttar Badda, Badda, Hatirjheel East, Rampura, Malibagh, Rajarbagh and Kamalapur.
The Purbachal part will have stations at Notun Bazar, Bashundhara R/A, Police Officers' Housing Society, Mastul, Purbachal West, Purbachal Centre and Purbachal East.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council in October last year approved the Tk52,561.43 crore project, to be implemented within September 2019 and December 2026.
The government will provide Tk13,111crore while JIica will fund Tk39,450 crore.
The government has adopted a time-bound Action Plan to build an integrated metro rail system of 129.901km (68.729km elevated and 61.172km underground) with 105 stations.
The system will be implemented by the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL). The plan comprises six metro rail lines to reduce traffic congestion and improve the environment of Dhaka metropolitan city and the surrounding areas by 2030.
