Metro line-5 proposal to be re-evaluated

For the first time, a proposal for a mega project will be sent back for further review as the interim government intends to re-evaluate all large projects to assess their usefulness carefully.
According to officials at the Planning Commission, the MRT Line-5 project proposal is likely to be sent back to the metro rail authority within a day or two. The project is awaiting final approval from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec).
On Sunday, the Planning Commission placed the MRT Line-5 proposal before Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud, who gave his consent for further review.
“Now we will send the proposal back to the metro rail authority. It could be sent tomorrow [today],” a Planning Commission official, wishing to remain unnamed, told this newspaper yesterday.
The interim government has decided against initiating new mega projects and to review ones under the Annual Development Programme (ADP). The planning adviser has given a directive to evaluate mega projects to assess whether they should be executed, especially the new ones.
The 17.20km Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-5 (Southern Route) is planned to be built between Gabtoli and Dasherkandi at a cost of Tk 54,618 crore (approximately $5.1 billion), with funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and South Korea.
During the immediate past Awami League government, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd (DMTCL), the implementing and operating agency of metro rail, sent the project proposal to the planning ministry before its approval at the Ecnec.
In April, a Project Evaluation Committee meeting evaluated the project.
According to the project documents, the MRT Line-5 will be built from Gabtoli to Dasherkandi via Kalyanpur, Shyamoli, Asad Gate, Russell Square, Karwan Bazar, Hatirjheel, Tejgaon, and Aftabnagar. There will be 11 underground and four elevated stations. The tunnel section will be between Gabtoli and Aftabnagar, while the elevated portion will be from Aftabnagar to Dasherkandi. A feasibility study on the project has already been completed with ADB financing. The deadline for the project is 2030.
According to the preliminary commitment, ADB will provide $3 billion and South Korea $1.5 billion in financing for the project.
In July 2013, the AL government formed the state-run company DMTCL to build and operate metro rail. The company adopted a time-bound action plan to build a 140-km metro rail network, comprising six lines, in and around Dhaka by 2030 to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.
The country’s first metro rail line, also known as MRT Line-6, is now fully operational on the Uttara to Motijheel route, significantly reducing travel time in a major part of the city. Its extended part from Motijheel to Kamalapur is expected to be opened by June next year.
The project’s revised cost is Tk 33,472 crore.
The physical work on MRT Line-1 and Line-5 (northern route) started in March and July last year, respectively, more than three years after the projects were approved in October 2019.
According to the planning ministry official, Japan is financing the two projects, which will continue.
The official however added that should the interim government make any different decisions, the planning ministry will act in accordance.
The project authority of MRT Line-1, the country’s first underground metro rail line, has so far been able to hire contractors for only one out of 12 packages. The project deadline is set for December 2026.
Under the Tk 52,561 crore project, the authority will build a 19.87km underground line from Dhaka airport to Kamalapur and an 11.37km elevated line from Dhaka’s Natunbazar to Narayanganj’s Pitalganj.
Similarly, the project authority of MRT Line-5 (northern route) has so far hired contractors for only one out of 10 packages.
The 20km line stretching from Hemayetpur to Bhatara will have underground and elevated sections. The deadline for the Tk 41,239 crore project is December 2028.
The proposed MRT Line-2 will be 36km long from Gabtoli to Narayanganj via Mohammadpur, Nilkhet, Azimpur, Central Shaheed Minar, Gulistan, Sadarghat, Mugda, Demra, and Chattogram Road.
The cost of the project will be around Tk 61,000 crore.
The DMTCL in September 2022 sent a preliminary development project proposal (PDPP) to the planning commission for the project’s feasibility study. The commission in August last year approved the PDPP in principle and sent it to the Economic Relations Division to look for a financier, according a project document.