With the inauguration of Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-6 the country has entered into metro rail era and it is expected that by 2030 metro rail construction will be completed.
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) Managing Director MAN Siddique thanking Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that they are optimistic that in 2030 it will be possible to build a circular web of metro rail in Dhaka city through which one can easily travel from any major part of the capital city to another.
The government plans to build five more metro rail lines in the capital Dhaka by 2030. Work on two has already started. Feasibility study of another project has been completed . It is not certain when the remaining two will come to the construction stage. It can be said that by 2030, the capital will come under circular rail service through the launch of all the Metro rails.
The Strategic Transport Plan (STP) was formulated in 2005 to alleviate traffic congestion in Dhaka. Later, STP was revised and RSTP was formulated in 2015. The plan recommends construction of six metro rail lines and two BRT lines in the capital by 2035.
The government wants to build all the Metro rails by 2030 in a time-bound plan. According to the survey, there will be five million passengers per day on the six routes.
A contract was signed with the contractor last month for the construction of the depot of the 31 km- long MRT-1 line from the airport station to Kamalapur and from Natunbazar to Purbachal. Through this, the work of this project of Tk 52561 crore has started. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide a loan of Tk 39,450 crore for this project. The remaining Tk 13111 crore will be provided by the government.
The MRT-1 project received government approval in September 2019. According to the project plan, the construction work will be completed in 2026.
DMTCL Managing Director MAN Siddique said, “We've planned to start the construction of Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-1, which will be the first underground metro line under Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) in January next year”.
The underground metro line will have two parts -- one from Dhaka airport to Kamalapur and the other from Notun Bazar to Purbachal, he said, adding that the DMTCL has a plan to start construction work of MRT-5 (Northern Route) in July 2023.
The MRT-5 Northern Line will be constructed from Hemayetpur in Savar to Vatara via Gabtali by 2028. 13.5 kilometers of this project will be built underground. This will be Dhaka's first east-west communication system. The stations will be Hemayetpur, Bolyarpur, Bilamalia, Aminbazar, Gabtali, Darus Salam, Mirpur-1, Mirpur-10, Mirpur-14, Kachukhet, Banani, Gulshan-2, Newbazar, Bhatara.
MRT-2 line is planned to be constructed from Gabtali to Dhaka Udyan, Mohammadpur, Jigatla, Newmarket, Azimpur, Palashi, Gulistan, Motijheel, Kamalapur, Manda, Narayanganj via Signboard. A branch line will go from Golapshah Majhar to Sadarghat in Old Dhaka.
As per the plan, MRT-6 and MRT-5 Northern will meet at Mirpur-10. MRT-6 and MRT-5 Southern will meet in Karwan Bazar. Kamalapur will have MRT-6, MRT-1 and MRT-2. MRT-4 will start from here. After 2035, there are plans to extend MRT-6 from Diabari to Savar Baipile.