The private company that was awarded the contract to build the capital's metro rail system has urged the government to clear soon the bureaucratic bottleneck, so it may begin construction within six months.
In a presentation yesterday at the Ministry of Communications, the company representatives said they already found a financer, and want to complete the details of the design and the negotiations with the government within six months.
The fate of much talked about metro rail in Dhaka city has been entangled in bureaucratic red tapes as the ministry has yet to form a metro rail authority for monitoring, controlling and supervising the project.
Contech Ltd, the lowest bidder in the tender, yesterday informed the communications minister that it already struck a deal with a Japanese company, Itochu Corporation, which agreed to provide 60 percent of funding as a soft loan. Yusuku Morinaga, the representative of the Japanese company yesterday handed over the letter of commitment at the meeting.
The Army Welfare Trust will invest the remaining 40 percent of the capital raising it from the local capital market, he said, while the engineering corps of the Bangladesh Army is to provide technical support for the project. Representatives of the army engineering corps were also present at the meeting.
"The first phase of the work will be done within three to four years using cut and cover (CC) method, once they get the work permit from the government. It will cost around 10 to 12 thousand crore taka, the exact amount of which we will be able to tell after the design is finalised," said Masud Reza, managing director of Contech Ltd.
Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain assured the builders that the government will issue a letter of intent (LOI) as soon as possible after examining the existing rules and regulations regarding the matter. He also said the government will soon form a metro rail authority too.
The cabinet decided to provide the work of constructing the metro rail to the lowest bidder Contech Ltd under a build operate and transfer (BOT) deal on January 7 last year, but the company could not start construction as it has yet to get the LOI from the government.
According to the Contech plan, subway trains will operate on six routes with fares ranging from Tk 5 to Tk 25. It will take four and a half years to complete the project.
Initially, the company will lay tracks underground at a shallow depth of only 24 feet, with an option to lay more tracks further down.
In the first phase of construction, using the cut and cover method, the metro rail will operate on six routes covering 52 kilometres of distance between Sayedabad and Gabtoli via Mohakhali, while another will run between Uttara and Mohakhali via the airport.
In the second phase, 4 branch lines will be laid, the first of which will run between Pallabi and IDB Bhaban of Agargaon via Mirpur Section 10, the second one will run from Shaymoli to Shahbagh via Jhigatola, the third one will connect Sayedabad with Bangla Motor via Komolapur and Moghbazar. The fourth will run between Gulistan and Sadarghat via the Judge Court.
There will be 50 stations in the 52-kilometre long metro railway system providing easy transport to 80 percent of the city residents, who will have access to a metro station within one kilometre of their residences and workplaces.
In its election manifesto Awami League (AL) pledged, among many other things, construction of a metro tunnel, and a circular railway in the capital to remove traffic jam and to solve other transport problems.