IT’S another classic case of delay in project implementation and a whopping rise in the project cost in the process. The project for an extended 20.5km rapid bus service for mass transport between Gazipur and Shahjalal International Airport was taken up in 2012. Six years later; only 20 percent of the job has been completed although the current deadline ends in December, according to project documents.
So those with a dream of commuting this route with an on-time, reliable modern bus service may have to wait another six years, officials said. But it will come at a heavy price too. Already, the original estimated project cost has more than doubled to Tk 4,264 crore from Tk 2,040 crore. It means an absurd average cost of around $26 million [about Tk 218 crore] for building a kilometre of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service while the global standard is highest $6 million opined a former technical expert for the proposed BRT system.
The government initiated the airport-Gazipur BRT scheme in 2012 as an extension of the system recommended by the Strategic Transport Plan. But with the original section implementable only in part, the extended section looks irrelevant.
We already know that the BRT project between Uttara and Keraniganj was sidelined by the Moghbazar and Mouchak flyovers, which were car friendly, even though the original plan was to get it to Keraniganj. The reasons are simple enough-our top level city planners and administrators are not bothered about the hoi polloi who travel by buses -if they can get to a place faster by a car they are happy.
Certainly no other reason exists for both the BRT projects to have such a slow construction phase-in at least one project only 20 percent of the work has been done while on the other almost half of the original route has been shelved. Our city planners must feel the need for ensuring the availability of an efficient mass communications service for our harried city residents.
