Underground metro: Physical work now set to start on Feb 2
The date for starting the physical work of country's first-ever underground metro rail line has been deferred to February 2 from January 26.
ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, secretary of Road Transport and Highways Division, and MAN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd, confirmed the date with The Daily Star.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was supposed to open the works on January 26, but she will be occupied with a prior programme on that day. Therefore, she will open the construction works on February 2, said Nuri.
DMTCL, the implementing agency of the metro rail project, has already signed a contract with Japan-Bangladesh joint-venture firm to develop the depot. Tokyu Construction Co Ltd of Japan and Max Infrastructure Ltd of Bangladesh are set to complete the work within 910 days for Tk 607.65 crore.
Once the MRT Line-1 is completed, it will be able to carry 8 lakh passengers daily. The official deadline for the project is December 2026, according to the project documents.
The 31.24km rail line will have two parts -- a 19.87km part from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Kamalapur will be underground, and around a 11.36km part will be elevated from Notunbazar to Purbachal.
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