e_Paper, Friday, August 18, 2017

10
FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 2017
DT
News
When will we have a BRT?
Other development projects overlap Bus Rapid Transit route, construction cost doubles
• Shohel Mamun
SPECIAL
The average traffic speed in Dhaka
is now only 7km per hour, according
to recent data from World Bank.
A BRT bus, however, could operate
at 25km/h along the suggested
routes.
So why has Bangladesh not succeeded
in developing a BRT system
to ease the pain of commuters in
Dhaka?
Many other major cities in the
world have Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
systems including Delhi, Bangkok,
Jakarta and Shanghai. Rio de Janeiro
opened its BRT system for the
2016 Olympic Games last summer.
Dar es Salaam, the Tanzanian
capital city of five million people,
has recently launched its BRT system,
just three years after the plan
was adopted. It has earned the city
authorities the prestigious “Sustainable
Transport Award 2018” as
the first African city to adopt such
a system.
A BRT system can ensure a
smooth and comfortable journey
since the buses run within dedicated
corridors through the middle of
the road, with little scope for congestion
as other vehicles are denied
access.
Buses can drive through without
any interruption and BRT buses
can even be given priority when
passing through intersections.
Commuters can catch BRT buses
from dedicated stations by paying
in advance through smart cards.
BRT projects are cheaper than
building new flyovers or highways
because they involve limited construction
and are normally based
on existing routes.
Bangladesh had planned to
build three BRT systems around 20
years ago to improve Dhaka’s traffic
system and reduce emissions, but
now the authorities say they will
build only two BRT routes due to a
shortage of space on existing roads.
The first route will be constructed
along a 42km stretch between
Shibbari in Gazipur and Jhilmil near
Keraniganj in Dhaka. Another 36km
line will be built on the capital’s eastern
edge, according to the Revised
Strategic Transport Plan (RSTP).
The 42km project, called BRT
line 3, was launched by the Road
Transport and Bridges Ministry in
2010 but its progress is currently
below 5% and the civil work is yet
to start. It will be implemented in
two parts: from Gazipur to Dhaka
airport (20km); and from the airport
to Keraniganj (22km).
The cost of the Gazipur and Airport
part has been set at Tk2,040
crore and the Airport to Jhilmil
section at Tk4,747 crore. The total
cost for BRT line 3 of Tk6,787 crore
is more than double the initial estimated
cost of Tk3,034 crore.
Officials from the Road Transport
and Highways Division and
officials involved in the project say
the major cause of rising costs are
loopholes in the preliminary design,
three revisions of the design
due to overlap with other projects,
and negligence of the implementing
authorities.
However, MAN Siddique, secretary
of the Road Transport and
Highways Division, told the Dhaka
Tribune: “We have no experience
building a BRT, but we have already
overcome the challenges. Hopefully
the project will be implemented
by 2019 as per plan.”
Progress of Gazipur-Airport section
Land development work for a depot
for the BRT line 3 project started
late last year and is still ongoing by
a local firm, nearly four years after
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid
its foundation stone on October 31,
2013. The PM inaugurated the construction
work on July 26, 2016.
The Roads and Highways Department
signed a Tk2,040 crore
deal with China Gezhouba Group
No 6 Engineering Co Ltd on December
1, 2016, for the building of Line
3 including a 16km road corridor,
flyovers and 25 stations. In addition,
the Bridges Division will build
a 4km flyover at Tongi for a further
Tk855 crore.
The Asian Development Bank,
France Development Agency and
Global Environmental Facility will
finance the project.
“Under the project we will build
six flyovers, 32km of footpaths, a
depot in Gazipur and an eight-lane
bridge over the Tongi river, which
has raised the cost,” BRT (Gazipur-Airport)
Project Director AQM
Ikram Ullah said.
“The BRT will also need 48 hectares
of land to develop the depot.
While most of it is public land,
Tk1,107 crore has been spent to acquire
the rest, with a rehabilitation
cost of Tk268 crore.”
Articulated buses will run on
the BRT at a cost of Tk392.4 crore.
Prof Shamsul Hoque of Buet’s
department of civil engineering
said there is no need to build a separate
infrastructure for BRT.
“Building two dividers on the
existing roads would have sufficed.
Even land would not have
been necessary,” he said. “All that
would be necessary would be some
stopping points for the passengers.
Also, the traffic light system should
be upgraded to prioritise the BRT
system.”
Progress of Airport-Jhilmil section
The project authority says Dhaka
South is more congested than the
north and so this is a challenge for
the second phase of the BRT line
3 project. The draft design was
changed three times, delaying its
completion and raising the cost
twice from an initial Tk2,747 crore to
the current figure of Tk4,747 crore.
As per the design - which has
been funded by the World Bank -
the main bus corridor, intersection
modification, 16 stations, underpasses,
box culverts and bridges
will cost a combined Tk1,019 crore.
The cost for feeder roads, drainage
and footpaths has been set at
Tk488 crore.
Mohakhali terminal reconstruction
and bus depot construction
cost is Tk1,163 crore. Keraniganj
bus depot cost is Tk132.5 crore.
BRT transportation system cost is
Tk163 crore. The cost of automated
fare collection and ticketing system
is Tk52 crore.
The Shantinagar-Keraniganj flyover
is not in the RSTP, but Rajuk
is implementing the project which
has become another major block
for the BRT route. As a result the
project authorities are trying to redesign
the route, which may now
end at Mohakhali.
“The project authority’s thought
for an alternative is that if the BRT
is finally built between Gazipur to
Mohakhali instead of Keraniganj,
the authority will install two shuttle
bus services from Mohakhali
bus terminal to Farmgate and another
from the terminal to Gulistan,”
PD Anisur Rahman said. • Source: Dhaka transport co-ordination authority website