After spending crores of taka, the lavish plan for constructing an underground metro rail network or subway system, to be known as the Dhaka Subway, is likely to be dropped.
Under the plan, over Tk聽300 crore was spent for a feasibility study which was completed about three years ago to propose some subway routes in the greater Dhaka area 鈥� which is composed of five districts of the Dhaka division.
But, in the recent draft of the Updating the Revised Strategic Transport Plan for Dhaka for the period of 2025鈥�2045, no recommendation has been made for the subway construction.
Officials of the Bangladesh Bridge Authority, which took the subway initiative, said that they would follow the government decision regarding the subway issue.
Earlier the authority, under the road transport and bridges ministry, planned for the subway system to ease traffic congestion and enhance the mobility of the city鈥檚 residents and visitors on a sustainable basis.
As per the bridge authority officials, the subway initiative was also taken to supplement and enhance the transportation capacities provided by the Mass Rapid Transit or metro rail lines and the Bus Rapid Transit or dedicate bus lines in the greater Dhaka metropolitan areas.
Following the feasibility study the bridge authority proposed 258 kilometres of Dhaka subway network comprising of 11 underground lines to be built by 2050 at an estimated cost of $72 billion.
Quazi Mohammad Ferdous, chief engineer of the Bangladesh Bridge Authority, said that the feasibility study was held between 2018 and 2022.
鈥業t cost over Tk聽300 crore,鈥� he said, adding that the authority had done it with its own fund.
After the study the authority moved forward with four potential routes of total 105 kilometres, to be built by 2030.
The routes are Route B (Gabtoli to BCSAHS (Dhelna), Route O (Tongi Junction to Jhilmil), Route S (Keraniganj to Sonapur) and Route T (Narayanganj to Uttara Sector-16).
In March, at the latest joint-platform meeting held in Tokyo, organised by the Public Private Partnership Authority of Bangladesh and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan, the BBA raised its proposal to the Japanese investors for these four projected subway routes.
Earlier this month, the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority under the road transport ministry uploaded the draft report of the 鈥楿pdating the Revised Strategic Transport Plan for Dhaka for the period of 2025鈥�2045鈥� on its web site, seeking public opinions.
The first strategic transport plan was conducted in 2005, which covered an area of 1,750 square kilometres in six districts, including Dhaka, and included all transport-related plans with a view to coordinating these.
Mohammad Abdur Rouf, executive director of the Bangladesh Bridge Authority, said that he knew that no subway routes were being recommended in the draft of the Updating the Revised Strategic Transport Plan for the period of 2025鈥�2045.
The Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority is the main body which coordinates the projects for Dhaka, he said.
鈥業f the government asks us now to stop working on the subway plan, we will discontinue it,鈥� he said, adding, 鈥榃e are not out of the government.鈥�
About the current situation of the plan with subway routes, Abdur Rouf said that they were at the initial stage.
鈥榃e have conducted a survey only,鈥� he said, adding that they were waiting for the response of the Japanese investors.
Replying to a question on the huge cost for the study, he said that research was important. 聽鈥楽ome money needs to be spent for greater benefits,鈥� he said.
In August 2018, the government of Bangladesh appointed TYPSA, in association with PADECO, BCL Associates Ltd, BETS and KS Consultants, to provide 鈥榗onsultancy services for carrying out feasibility study and preliminary design for construction of Dhaka Subway, Bangladesh鈥�.
