BSS, Dhaka :The capital city of Bangladesh would soon see an appreciable improvement in the traffic movement as the present government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is working relentlessly to construct the Metro Rail and the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).Thus, the city’s commuters would enjoy their much-awaited ease in the traffic movement, getting rid of the perennial congestion of the transportations on the roads of the gradually expanding city. Besides, the pedestrians would feel further free in their movement on the city’s footpaths while walking down to respective destinations as the two newest mode of transports would carry the main load of the travelers everyday.”The main construction works of the most attractive public transports metro rail and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) would begin in February, 2016 aimed at removing traffic congestion from Dhaka city,” Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader told BSS here yesterday.He said, the government has already undertaken various ambitious projects to remove the traffic snarl from the mega as well as most populous city of Bangladesh. “The main work of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and the BRT project is to start in February next, as its necessary survey is expected to complete by December this year,” the minister said.According to a ministry official, the government has decided to construct the 21-km metro rail and the 20-km BRT involving Taka 23,100 crore to ensure smooth and uninterrupted movement of the city dwellers.He said the cost of the metro rail is estimated at Taka 21,000 crore while that of the BTR has been fixed at Taka 2,100 crore. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) would provide Taka 16,500 crore for the Metro rail and the rest of the fund would come from the Government of Bangladesh (GoB).The government divided eight separate packages for the construction of metro rail, of which tender of six packages had already been floated, while tender for two packages would be floated in February next.Besides, there are two separate packages in the BRT, which have already been floated for construction of the BRT, the official added.According to the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA), the project work is going on fast and the construction of the Metro Railway will complete by December in 2019. There will be 16 stations – Uttara North, Central and South, Pallabi, Mirpur-11, Mirpur-10, Kaziparha, Taltala, Agargaon, Bijoy Sarani, Farmgate, Sonargaon, National Museum, Doyel Chattar, Bangabandhu National Stadium and Bangladesh Bank.
