Far from building five for the cost of one, two metro rail projects see costs rise by Tk1.1 trillion

Staff Reporter

For several years, there have been reports that the Awami League government has spent 5-10 times more money on various mega projects, including the Metrorail, wasting it or smuggling it abroad. Critics have said that 5-10 projects could have been done for the money of 1 project. Such statements were made especially in the context of various allegations of corruption against the Awami League government after August 5.

However, the real picture is different. The cost of MRT Line-5 is increasing by 126%, from 41 thousand crores to 93 thousand crores in a single leap. The cost of Line-1 has increased by 130 percent. That is, it has increased from 52 thousand 562 crores to 1 lakh 20 thousand 794 crores 13 lakhs. Which is close to the cost of the most expensive project in the history of the country – Rooppur Power Plant.

The July protesters’ ambitious proposal to build 5 metrorails with the money from one project is being heavily criticized on various platforms including social media. However, the government is having to take a decision like closing the ongoing project financially. In the meantime, a decision has been made to take up another new metrorail project called ‘MRT Line-2’.

Cost of two Metrorail projects increased by Tk 1.10 lakh crore

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved three projects to expand Dhaka’s metro rail network. Among them, the first amendment to the two ongoing projects funded by Japan has increased the cost by about Tk 110,000 crore.

A total of 12 development projects, including three metro rail projects, were approved at the ECNEC meeting held at the Secretariat on Wednesday, September 16. The meeting was presided over by the Prime Minister and ECNEC Chairperson Tarique Rahman.

The total cost of the three approved metro rail projects is estimated at Tk 2,49,747 crore.

The revised cost of the 31.24-kilometer-long MRT Line-1 project has been estimated at Tk 61,833.45 crore. The original cost of the project was Tk 52,561.43 crore. The cost has increased by Tk 9,272.2 crore in the first revision. The project has been targeted to be completed by 2033.

The revised cost of the 20-kilometer-long MRT Line-5 Northern project from Hemayetpur to Bhatara has been estimated at 89,848.36 crore taka. Its original cost was 41,238.54 crore taka. The revised cost has increased by 48,609.82 crore taka.

The cost of the 17.20-kilometer-long MRT Line-5 Southern project from Gabtoli to Dasherkandi has been estimated at 45,503 crore taka. Of this, government funding is 15,197 crore taka. The remaining 30,306 crore taka will come from loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and South Korea’s Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).

13.10 kilometers of the project will be underground and the remaining part will be built on a flyover. There are plans to build the underground part through Gabtoli, Technical, Kalyanpur, Shyamoli, College Gate, Asad Gate, Shukrabad, Karwan Bazar and Tejgaon and then along the bottom of Hatirjheel to Aftabnagar.

The ECNEC meeting said that three projects have been approved simultaneously to facilitate the travel of city residents and speed up the implementation of Dhaka’s metro rail network.