Metrorail cost to go up by Tk 11,514cr

The cost of Metrorail-6 (MRT-6) 22km project from Uttara to Kamalapur Station will increase by Tk 11,514 crore and total cost to be stood at Tk 33,472 crore.

On Tuesday, the National Economic Council Executive Committee (ECNEC) meeting will propose to increase the time and cost of the Metrorail mega project. As per the proposal, the duration of the project is extended by 18 months. At the same time, the length will increase by 1.16 km. Earlier, the cost of Metrorail was fixed at Tk 21, 958 crore.

For this reason, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) is revising the current Development Project Proposal (DPP). The proposals of the concerned parties are scrutinised in the meeting of the Project Appraisal Committee in the Planning Commission.

Member of the Planning Commission Mamun-al-Rashid said that the cost and duration of the Metrorail-6 is increasing due to various reasons. Along with increasing the length of it, the expenditure on land acquisition for construction of station plazas is also increasing.

According to sources, the implementation of the Metrorail project is underway to reduce the suffering of the capital’s residents. Once the work is completed, improved trains can reach specific destinations in less time. About 22km from Uttara to Kamalapur Station will get the desired relief from the unbearable traffic jam. But with this hope, the waiting line is getting longer.

Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development (Line-6) project has been proposed by the executing agency Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Company Limited for the second round of amendments seeking additional time and money for the construction work.

If the amendment proposal is approved, the total duration of the project will be 13 years. Its work was supposed to be completed in June 2024, starting from 2012. But as per the revised project proposal, the work will be completed by December 2025.

JICA, the Japanese government’s international development agency, is the main lender for the project. The company is giving Tk 19,718 crore. The remaining Tk 13,754 crore is the government’s own provision.

Sources said that Metrorail is a first track or priority project of the government. According to the Planning Commission’s Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Department (IMD), the implementation progress of Metrorail is 92 per cent till last June. But the financial progress is about 90 per cent.