How close is Bangladesh to completing its first underground metro rail?

Among five more metro rail lines to be constructed in the capital, the MRT Line 1 from Dhaka airport to Kamalapur will be Bangladesh's first underground metro rail.

The project authorities aim to complete the underground metro rail construction by December 2026, meaning there are only two years left until trains are supposed to start running underground.

However, infrastructure construction for the depot, where trains will be maintained, has not yet started on the allocated land for the project; piling work is being currently done on the ground.

After the depot is built, other work, including laying rail tracks and building stations, will be carried out. 

Although much of the work is not yet visible, the authorities are optimistic that they can complete the project on time and begin operating the underground metro rail as planned.

According to project data, the construction of the underground metro rail will be completed in 12 phases. In the first phase, land development, or piling, is underway in Pitalganj for the construction of the depot. 

In the next phase, the depot building will be constructed, and tunnels and stations will be built underground in four more phases.

The construction work on this line was inaugurated on February 2 last year. So far 75% of the work on the first phase has been completed. According to the agreement, this phase is expected to be completed by August next year. After the piling work on this 94-acre area is finished, the necessary infrastructure for the depot will be constructed in the second phase.

While the work on the first phase is ongoing, the tendering process for contractors to start work on the remaining 11 phases is in progress.

An official from the project, requesting anonymity, said the project authorities planned to sign contracts with selected contractors for the remaining 11 packages by December, which would allow the contractors to begin work by March next year.

Meanwhile, the underground work was initially scheduled to start in September, but it has been delayed by about six months. However, this delay was not expected to impact the timely completion of the MRT Line 1, the official told this correspondent.

"We will start constructing the underground line in the fifth phase, which is essentially the main work of Line 1, and it will progress quickly. So despite the six-month delay, we expect to complete the project within the specified time and budget. If everything goes as planned, the project can be completed by December 2026."

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) is providing financial and technical assistance for the country’s first underground metro rail. Jica is covering three-quarters of the total cost of this project, which is around Tk52,500 crore. 

Japanese technology will also be used to build the underground railway and stations.

Route and stations

The MRT Line 1 will have two sections. One section, the airport to Kamalapur route, will be entirely underground. The other section, from Natun Bazaar to Purbachal, will be mostly elevated, with the exception of two stations.

The airport section will have a total of 12 stations: airport, terminal 3, Khilkhet, Nodda, Natun Bazar, Uttar Badda, Badda, Aftabnagar, Rampura, Malibagh, Rajarbagh and Kamalapur.

Meanwhile, the Purbachal route will have eight stations: Natun Bazar, Nodda, Joar Sahara, Boalia, Mastul, Sheikh Hasina stadium (the tender process for which was cancelled in August), Purbachal centre, Purbachal east and Purbachal terminal. 

The depot for the MRT Line 1 will be in Pitalganj, Rupganj.

Other metro rail lines

Work on the MRT Line 5 (Northern) is also underway. This line will run from Hemayetpur to Vatara, spanning a total of 20 kilometres with 14 stations (nine underground and five elevated).

The construction of the MRT Line 5 will be completed in 10 phases. Formal work on this line began on November 4 last year, and land development work for the depot at Hemayetpur is currently in progress in the first phase. This phase was approximately 27% complete by September, and tender processes for contractors for the remaining nine phases are at various stages.

Mohammad Abdur Rouf, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd, said last month that the construction of other metro rail lines would continue according to plan. 

"We must proceed as planned. Each line has a target for project implementation. We aim to launch Line 1, the first underground metro rail, by 2026, and gradually bring the remaining metro rail lines into operation by 2030," he told journalists at the MRT Line 6 depot office on October 14.