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Urban planners, academics and rights activists on Friday called on the government to halt its moves to construct Dhaka Subway considering the country’s socio-economic condition as the costly project would require an investment which is about 1.5 times of the current fiscal year budget amount.

They also said that the government should rather focus on completing ongoing mega projects, including the metro rail and rationalisation of bus routes by bringing buses under a few companies and decentralisation of the Dhaka city.

They also feared that if the project revised, the cost of the project go up further like the ongoing ones.

They made the remarks at an online discussion titled ‘Dhaka subway train project: analysing the practicality in sustainable transport planning’, organised by the Institute for Planning and Development.

Jahangirnagar University urban planning professor and also the IPD executive director Adil Mohammed Khan in a presentation discussed the government’s move to construct highly expensive Dhaka Subway for easing the traffic congestion in the city.

‘The expected cost of the entire Dhaka Subway project would be Tk 8,82,380 crore for 11 routes, which is around 1.5 times of the country’s current budget amoung,’ he said, adding that the four routes would be completed by 2030 and the others  by 2050.

The present budget amount was Tk 6,03,681 crore.

He said that developed countries, including the United States, are discouraging constructions of subways due to high operational and maintenance cost.

‘The high ambitious project does not match with the country’s current socio-economic condition,’ he added.

Adil, quoting a study, also said that the construction of first four routes would require Tk 3,54,521 crore which is about half of the country’s ongoing budgetary allocation. 

The Bangladesh Bridge Authority carried out a feasibility study and preliminary design for the construction of Dhaka Subway by the Typsa, a Spain-based consultancy firm.

The feasibility study cost Tk 321 crore, including the Tk 317 crore for consultants.    

The Bangladesh Institute of Planners general secretary Sheikh Mohammad Mehedi Ahsan asked why the plan was not included in the Detailed Area Plan.

He also said that the government should have talks with major stake holders of Dhaka city, including Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha and Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority, before going to the feasibility study of Dhaka Subway.  

Dhaka Detailed Area Plan 2016-2035 project director Ashraful Islam said that the Dhaka subway project should begin after the competition of six metro-rail and other mega projects.

He also said that the government should focus on creating footpaths, roads and other measures to ease traffic jam.

Transport expert SM Salahuddin said that the government could bring 1,000 new buses on roads with the money of Tk 321 crore that was spent for the feasibility study.

He said that the high ambitious project did not match with the people’s socio-economic condition.

‘What will happen if anyone destroys the underground train service during any unrest like the clash in New Market area this week?’ he said.

He urged the government to rethink before going to implement its plan.

Jahangirnagar University urban planning professor Akter Mahmud said that the government should focus on the decentralisation of the Dhaka city and creating more employment and increasing living standard in the districts.