Bhanga-Kuakata rail route: Plan revived to lay 214km track

Bangladesh Railway is reviving its plan to build a 214km rail line from Bhanga to Kuakata via Madaripur, Barishal and Payra port following recent instructions from the prime minister.

The project was apparently backburnered after the completion of the feasibility study in 2021 as a huge fund of Tk 41,797.6 crore was required for its implementation. At that time, the exchange rate was Tk 84.80 per US dollar.

"The prime minister has recently directed us to find a financier for the project. So, we are taking steps in this regard," Railways Secretary Humayun Kabir told The Daily Star on Wednesday.

The premier also instructed the BR to expedite the implementation of a project taken up to build an Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Gazipur's Dhirasram, aiming to relocate the Kamalapur ICD from Dhaka, he said.

The BR took up a project last year involving Tk 3,402.88 crore to acquire land for Dhirasram ICD and to build a connecting rail line. Another project will have to be taken up for building necessary infrastructure for the ICD once the land acquisition is completed, BR sources said.

They said Railways Minister Zillul Hakim, Secretary Humayun Kabir and the BR's immediate past director general Quamrul Ahsan met the PM at her office early this week.

The three met the premier to get her consent about the alignment of proposed chord line from Dhaka to Cumilla via Narayanganj. They placed the proposal before Hasina with four options for building the line, but the premier is yet to give her decision, sources said.

Currently, the BR is carrying out a feasibility study for building the chord line which will reduce the distance between Dhaka and Chattogram by 90 kilometers and travel time by one-and-a-half hours.

BHANGA-PAYRA RAIL LINE

Aiming to bring Payra Sea Port in Patuakhali and Barishal under the rail network, the BR in 2021 completed a feasibility study and detailed design of the proposed Bhanga-Kuakata rail line.

The railway authorities expect that the direct link between the sea port and the capital would boost their revenue through operation of freight trains.

Building the broad-gauge single line, with 19 stations between Bhanga and Kuakata, will cost around Tk 41,797.60 crore ($4.93 billion), reads the feasibility study report.

The estimate was made when the US dollar exchange rate against taka was Tk 84.80. If the current exchange rate (Tk 110) is taken into consider, the project cost would rise to Tk 54,218.5 crore.

The proposed deadline of the project is June 2029. The BR has already sent the Pre-Development Project Proposal (DPP) to the Planning Commission.

However, some experts have raised questions about the commercial viability of the project.

The government has decided to build a sea port in Payra pulling back from its previous plan to build a deep-sea port there.

Different companies had expressed their interest in financing the Bhanga-Kuakata rail line project on several occasions but the BR did not find those proposals viable, sources said.

The government also sought investments from Russia and Saudi Arabia for the project but no progress in this regard is visible, said BR sources.

Speaking at a programme on Wednesday, Railways Minister Zillul Hakim said the prime minister directed them to expedite the process of building the Bhanga-Payra rail line.

A top ministry official said the project might cost Tk 65,000 crore to 70,000 crore and arranging such a huge amount of money is a big challenge.

Once the BR manage the fund, it will submit the DPP of the project to the Planning Commission for approval, the official said wishing not to be named.