Underground Metro/Subway System for Dhaka [Archive]

Tmac

September 26th, 2007, 08:25 PM

Metro rail work before power handover
Says adviser Matin

The caretaker government might start the construction work of metro rail or elevated expressway before it hands over power next year, the communications adviser said yesterday.

"We want to start the work as soon as possible. Hopefully we will start next year," Communication Adviser Maj Gen (retd) MA Matin said.

He was talking to the journalists following a presentation on proposed metro rail service in Dhaka city by Contech Ltd at the auditorium of communications ministry. The company was the lowest bidder in the international tender invited.

The government would decide about which one to be given priority, metro rail or elevated expressway, after conducting a study, the communications adviser said adding that the Board of Investment (BOI) will conduct the study soon.

Following the BOI study, an international tender will be floated again and the work order will be given to the lowest bidder, Matin said. The BOI would finish their study within December, he added.

In their presentation, the Contech Ltd said that the soil of Dhaka city is suitable for constructing underground metro rail line. According to their plan, the metro rail would ply six routes in the city and the fares would range from Tk 5 to Tk 25. The project would take four and half years to complete.

Initially, the company would lay the underground tracks in very shallow depth; only 24 feet below the surface.

Experts from different departments concerned as well as from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) were present at the session.

Following the presentation, the experts observed that the design and planning should have provision for expansion of the metro railway service as the city is going to expand towards the east and south.

They were also for making a proper planning of traffic management while constructing the metro railway.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=5601

meghnarmajhi

September 26th, 2007, 09:03 PM

Excellent idea - except that I don't see a lot of ways people can transfer from one service to the other. Some probably are not even necessary - e.g. Sayedabad - Gabtoli service can make stoppages at Shahbagh and Shyamoli and even Bangla Motor. Hard to tell before we see a map.

Tmac

September 26th, 2007, 09:06 PM

what got my attention is this - "The project would take four and half years to complete."...........really????

mirzazeehan

September 26th, 2007, 10:17 PM

I really hope they start work on that elevated expressway before power,cause once you start construction on such main roads,it is bound to get completed fast.

snoq

September 27th, 2007, 07:46 AM

Even during the tenure of last govt underground subway/train system was first seriously considered but there was no in depth feasibility study done for the project. Dhaka with overwhelming transport system this type of gigantic construction bound to cause additional stress on movement. What about cost analysis, optimum construction method given water table and underground condition. How to power such enormous systems, do we have enough power generation capacity and fuel to support such system?
There are serious issues to be considered and analyzed before we can move forward on this project.

Knowing communication Adviser Maj Gen (retd) Matin, he must have sold on company glossy and animated presentation (among other things). Otherwise no one in the world could start such metro project before end of last year. Tmac you are right - four and half year completion time is just irrational exuberance at it best.

I would be delighted to see Dhaka gets its metro system but govt needs to take practical, measured and timely decision not a hasty one.

clearsky

October 2nd, 2007, 04:59 AM

http://www.amadershomoy.com/news.php?id=203185&sys=1

Summery:

Communication advisor Maj. Gen (Ret) Abdul Matin said that the govt. would approve the underground subway project soon. The project was initiated in 2003 by then govt. but has yet to be approved. The 6 thousand crore project has gone through several phases of the approval process but has yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel. After taking over responsibility on 1/11 the present govt. made its priority to clear up traffic congestions in the Dhaka City. With this goal in mind the govt. would like to approve the strategic planning of the project by December this year with a view that the construction will begin before the govt. leaves office towards the end of next year.

BUET vice-chairman A MM Safi Uddin said that we should properly utilize underground before building over passes. This will ensure optimum usage of both under and over ground for the betterment of the city dwellers.

tanzirian

October 2nd, 2007, 05:03 AM

^^ It will be great if this govt can get the ball rolling on this prior to handing over power. That would at least ameliorate much of the graft related delays and favoritism typically associated with large projects of this kind.

Tmac

October 7th, 2007, 08:50 PM

Govt plans hi-tech transport system for capital

The government is discussing various transport-related investment proposals with the private sector to mitigate the transport problem in the capital, said communications adviser MA Matin on Sunday.

‘We will sit with our experts to discuss the proposals and will accept the most suitable one,’ said Matin after a presentation on the Elevated Mass Rail Transit System, also dubbed ‘monorail’, at his ministry’s conference room.

Transco Holdings, a United States-based infrastructure firm which got the contract for building a monorail system in the capital under the build-own-operate basis from the Awami League government, made the presentation with the intention of reviving the project.

According to the communications ministry, it is currently studying at least three large-scale transport-related infrastructure development projects — elevated expressway, underground railway and monorail — all of which were conceived either by the Awami League or BNP-Jamaat government.

‘We will take a decision soon, as we have been instructed by the higher authorities to solve the transport problem of the city,’ said communications secretary Mahbubur Rahman.

The communications ministry floated a tender in 1998 for construction of an Elevated Mass Rail Transit System on the build-own-operate basis.

Transco of USA participated in the bidding and was considered the first-ranking bidder, and it was accordingly invited to negotiate the terms of the tender and sign a memorandum of understanding.

Several meetings were held with a high-powered panel of experts, including engineers and representatives of the international lenders.

Eventually a MOU was signed for construction of a 51-kilometre monorail at a cost of $894 million. The line, running in different directions from Gulistan, was supposed to have a double track with 29 stations.

Mahbub Uddin Ahmed, chairman and chief executive officer of Universal Machinery and Equipment, Transco’s local agent, said a feasibility study should be carried out again to estimate the cost of the project as the original proposal was given in 2000, when the cost was much lower.

‘We need to have a feasibility study again as the prices of everything have gone up in the last seven years.’

http://www.newagebd.com/nat.html

Tmac

November 5th, 2007, 01:00 AM

Government chooses underground railway for Dhaka city

The government has decided to get an underground railway network built by the private sector on a priority basis to solve the transport problem and mitigate traffic congestion in the capital.

The communications adviser, MA Matin, at a meeting on Sunday decided to award the contract for building the underground railway system to the most competitive bidder on ‘build own operate’ basis. The government opted for the metro (underground railway) out of the three transport projects it had been considering, said a statement of the communications ministry.

The ministry formed a 12-member committee on October 25, headed by the communications adviser, to decide which transport project should be adopted out the three proposed systems — metro railway, elevated expressway and monorail.

The meeting held a detailed discussion on the three projects and finally decided to go ahead with the metro system after considering various factors such as cost, speed, land use pattern, passenger carrying capacity, fare, fuel efficiency, safety and impact on the environment.

The meeting also assigned the Board of Investment to take up the project as it would be implemented through the private sector’s investment.

According to a comparative study of the three transport systems, the metro will carry around 90,000 passengers per hour while the elevated expressway will carry only 20,000 and monorail around 30,000 per hour at speeds of 120 km, 60 km and 70 km per hour respectively.

The construction of each kilometre of the underground railway track will cost around $60 to $100 million, while the cost of building the same length of the elevated expressway and monorail will be around $40 to $75 million and $50 to $120 million respectively.

The fare of metro will be the cheapest among the three modes of transport as it will charge between Tk 10 to 25 per passenger, depending on the distance, while the elevated expressway will charge Tk 100 to Tk 300 per vehicle and monorail will charge Tk 40 to 70 per passenger.

The communications ministry officials, however, said it would take at least 2 years to complete all the initial procedures such as conducting a feasibility study, preparing tender documents and selecting an eligible firm to begin the construction of the mega transport project.

The provision for constructing an underground railway was also included in the Strategic Transport Planning for Dhaka which is yet to be approved by the government.

The meeting said that the Tk 14 crore transport study would be sent to the council of advisers shortly for approval after making the necessary corrections.

Earlier, the communications ministry suggested a similar project and recommended Contech Ltd, a local firm, for building a 52-km tube in the city at a cost of around Tk 6,200 crore on the ‘built-own-operate’ basis.

The ministry in June selected Contech as it was the lowest bidder in the pre-qualification tender floated by the Bangladesh Railway in 2002. Only two firms, however, took part in the bidding.

Contech offered to build the underground system at a cost of Tk 6,200 crore in four years and to hand it over to the government 34 years later as it sought a 30-year concession time to recover its investment and make an adequate amount of profit.

According to Contech’s project design, the tube would have six routes with double lines touching all the busy and strategic points of the city with Tongi, Syedabad, Gabtali, Mohakhali, Farmgate, New Market and Sadarghat as some of the important junctions.

http://www.newagebd.com/met.html

Tmac

November 5th, 2007, 01:03 AM

mirzazeehan

November 5th, 2007, 01:31 AM

the highlighted paragraph of the above article makes me scared that this project will be shelved again once the elected government settles in. They will re-prioritize and decide to abandon this to give the project to their own people. Same cycle goes on forever.

Wouldn't be that bad if this one is shelved actually...I would prefer to ride the mono-rail or Elevated expressway over an Underground Tube.Also given that the number of cars in Dhaka city is the main cause of such heavy traffic,I think it would be more practical to have the expressway.Car owners would never use the tube,so it would only help in reducing the number of buses,Taxis(which are not the reason behind the traffic jams in the first place).

enu

November 5th, 2007, 02:20 AM

tanzirian

November 5th, 2007, 02:24 AM

^^
I would prefer to have an elevated Rail system than under ground one. By BD standard under groung rail stops will turn into drug dealers heaven or safe heaven for thugs. And not to mention general public's unhygenic habits of peeing or spitting anywhere. It's gonna turn into a nightmare instead. It's also cost effective to build an elevated monorail than under ground tracks. So, all things consider monorail is a better choice for us. What do you think guys?

I had said previously especially taking into consideration our soft soil and flooding, that an elevated system may be better. However as far as I recall the Kolkata subway has been a success and since they have to deal with similar climactic / cultural issues, maybe it can work in Dhaka.

enu

November 5th, 2007, 03:15 AM

^^
It all depends on how prudent our engineers and the authority are. I don't have high hopes on them. Better to have a diligent foreign consulting farm to do the project and hand it over to private management.

Tmac

November 5th, 2007, 05:28 AM

once again the highlighted paragraph below catches my attention. I think both metro and an expressway is needed for Dhaka's traffic problem.

Government focuses on building Metro Rail

The government yesterday set its priority on building a subway or underground railway system to ease traffic congestion and improve communication system in the capital.

The decision to build the network, to be known as Metro Rail, was taken in a meeting at communications ministry with Communications Adviser Maj Gen (retd) MA Matin in the chair.

The meeting also decided that the next priority of the government would be to initiate the process of building an elevated expressway for Dhaka city.

The government would soon ask Board of Investment (BoI) to float a fresh international tender for the subway network.

The government is keen to start the work of the subway before it hands over power to an elected government next year, said Adviser Matin during the meeting.

The subway will be implemented on build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis, a communications ministry official told The Daily Star after the meeting yesterday.

On September 26, Contech Ltd, the lowest bidder in an international tender floated earlier, said during a presentation at the communications ministry on the proposed underground rail service that the soil of Dhaka city is suitable for construction of such underground rail network.

According to Contech plan, the subway trains would operate on six routes with fares ranging from Tk 5 to Tk 25. It would take four and a half years to complete the project.

Initially, the company would lay tracks underground at very shallow depths -- only 24 feet below the surface with an option to lay more tracks further down.

Following the presentation that day, Adviser Matin said a fresh international tender would be floated after setting the priorities and work order would be given to the lowest bidder of the new tender.

In yesterday's meeting, it was also decided that the amended Strategic Transport Plan would be sent to the council of advisers for approval.

The secretary of communications ministry, director general of Bangladesh Railway, chief engineer of Roads and Highways Department, executive director of Dhaka Transport Coordination Board and representatives from Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha and Dhaka City Corporation were also present at the meeting.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=10392

tareq79

November 5th, 2007, 07:28 AM

I agree with Tmac, both metro and an expressway is needed for Dhaka's traffic problem; and partially disagree with Mirza on Car owners would never use the tube.
The number of car owners in Dhaka has increased unusually last 2/3 years. This is caused by the lack of good mass transport system. A big portion of middle class owned cars (mainly reconditioned and used ones) to get rid of those murir tin bus services and rowdy taxi drivers despite the price hike of fuel and long queue for gas. I think if Metro see some daylight, most of the members of a car owner family (plus of course the majority who dont own cars) will prefer metro.
And a lot of people will prefer to live outside Dhaka and will use the nearest metro station at outskirts.

sathya_226

November 5th, 2007, 10:51 AM

Dhaka nd bldesh govt should learn something from india (delhi metro)

tanzirian

November 5th, 2007, 07:43 PM

Dhaka nd bldesh govt should learn something from india (delhi metro)

Certainly we can learn from other places, however keep in mind that Delhi does not have the same environmental challenges as Dhaka; also India has a lot more money to spend than BD at this stage of our development.

Tmac

November 5th, 2007, 07:57 PM

Dhaka nd bldesh govt should learn something from india (delhi metro)

certainly we can all learn things from each other. India can learn many things from Bangladesh as well.

sathya_226

November 8th, 2007, 02:50 PM

yeah of course!

tareq79

December 30th, 2007, 08:25 AM

There was a news item on this project on the day just after Eid which I nearly missed. A meeting was held and it may commence in June, 08 according to Contech CEO when interviewed. As newspaper publication was stopped for three days for Eid, I couldn't get to any detail on this. Has anybody here not missed the news and can give some details? Anyway, so it is not in limbo IMO.

G2G

December 30th, 2007, 10:31 AM

Is there any update on this soomwhere in the web??

amar11372

December 30th, 2007, 03:26 PM

So for as I could tell there is a big buzz going on about establishing a 52 KM long Subway service underground Dhaka, predicted to start on June 08; But I couldn't find any real news source about it. I think the govt should go ahead with this proposal from Contech, since its BOT (build operate transfer) the gov't wouldn't have to spend a dime on this project.

alladin212

December 31st, 2007, 02:51 AM

Metro rail work before power handover
Says adviser Matin
Staff Correspondent

The caretaker government might start the construction work of metro rail or elevated expressway before it hands over power next year, the communications adviser said yesterday.

"We want to start the work as soon as possible. Hopefully we will start next year," Communication Adviser Maj Gen (retd) MA Matin said.

He was talking to the journalists following a presentation on proposed metro rail service in Dhaka city by Contech Ltd at the auditorium of communications ministry. The company was the lowest bidder in the international tender invited.

The government would decide about which one to be given priority, metro rail or elevated expressway, after conducting a study, the communications adviser said adding that the Board of Investment (BOI) will conduct the study soon.

Following the BOI study, an international tender will be floated again and the work order will be given to the lowest bidder, Matin said. The BOI would finish their study within December, he added.

In their presentation, the Contech Ltd said that the soil of Dhaka city is suitable for constructing underground metro rail line. According to their plan, the metro rail would ply six routes in the city and the fares would range from Tk 5 to Tk 25. The project would take four and half years to complete.

Initially, the company would lay the underground tracks in very shallow depth; only 24 feet below the surface.

Experts from different departments concerned as well as from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) were present at the session.

Following the presentation, the experts observed that the design and planning should have provision for expansion of the metro railway service as the city is going to expand towards the east and south.

They were also for making a proper planning of traffic management while constructing the metro railway.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=5601

G2G

December 31st, 2007, 08:18 AM

I wonder, this project will ever see the completion like so many others. Lets hope for the best.

TIslam

January 1st, 2008, 12:28 AM

Certainly we can learn from other places, however keep in mind that Delhi does not have the same environmental challenges as Dhaka; also India has a lot more money to spend than BD at this stage of our development.

True, but Bangladesh planners should try to glean information on the "hows" and "whats" of Mumbai Metro which was announced sometime back. If they can build a Metro there, Dhaka shouldn't be a problem. If Mumbai expat friends tell me that you hit water after just digging two feet into the ground around Mumbai.

Sridhar

January 1st, 2008, 01:41 AM

As far as I can tell, there are no technical challenges for the construction of a metro in Dhaka. If an underground metro is expensive, how about a (mostly) elevated line? Even in Delhi, most of the network is elevated - there are short underground sections only in some short stretches, like in the heart of the city and in old Delhi, where there is no space for an elevated line or an elevated line will spoil the heritage architecture.

Mumbai will have a largely elevated network in the outer parts of the city, with one long line being almost entirely underground due to unavailability of surface space.

TIslam

January 1st, 2008, 02:07 AM

clearsky

January 1st, 2008, 06:00 AM

^^Well, the proposed Dhaka underground railway system is supposed to have 25 KM of track underground, out of 52 KM. The rest will be above ground.

manbil777

January 2nd, 2008, 09:19 AM

Even Kolkata's lines were laid shallow -- mostly cut-and-cover as I remember...

Tmac

January 6th, 2008, 10:11 PM

Subway project for Dhaka to come under review today

The council committee on economic affairs in a meeting today (Monday) will review the proposed metro sub-way project -- worth nearly US$900 million -- aimed at improving future traffic management in the capital, sources said.

Finance and planning adviser Mirza Azizul Islam will chair the meeting and may approve the much-talked-about infrastructure project to be implemented by a private entrepreneur on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis.

The present caretaker administration was reluctant to deal with the project initially and wanted the next political government to deal with it. But it changed its stance since November last, sources added.

The ministry of communication that is seeking approval expects positive response from the council committee on economic affairs as a technical committee, a couple of month ago, decided to give priority to the metro sub-way project.

Compared to other proposals such as elevated express-way and mono-rail, the proposed metro sub-way, known as tube rail, is most suitable for a highly populous city like Dhaka, said a senior ministry official.

The official said it is essential to construct communication infrastructure like underground railway in the city for solving the traffic problem and easing transportation.

Dhaka has emerged as the eighth most populous city in the world with its present population of 1.35 million and an annual growth rate of 3.02 per cent.

The growth rate of city's vehicles is 8.1 per cent annually. The present number of vehicles plying in the city streets is more than 0.4 million compared to 35,458 in 1971.

The official pointed out that existing road infrastructure was insufficient to cope up with the steady growth of both vehicles and commuters of the capital and from its surrounding areas.

According to the communication ministry, the proposal for the construction of a tube rail in the capital was first floated in 2001 when the Bangladesh Railway sought expression of interest from private entrepreneurs to construct it.

Contech Limited, a local construction firm, proposed to build the 52-kilometre underground railway network with six major routes around the capital at a cost of $899.55 million.

The construction, as per proposal of the firm, will be 'cut and cover' method and will be completed in four years. The whole process will be carried out by a consortium of a number of foreign and local organisations.

The construction firm proposed operate the tube train for 34 years before transferring it to the government.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=21818

Tmac

January 7th, 2008, 08:44 PM

Subway project for Dhaka city gets govt body's nod

The Advisers' Committee on Economic Affairs (ACEA) Monday gave a nod to the proposed Dhaka City Underground Railway Project for enlisting it with the Private Infrastructure Committee (PICOM) for considering it as per Bangladesh Private Sector Infrastructure Guideline, reports UNB.

PICOM, as a policymaking body of the government, deals with the private sector-sponsored infrastructure projects, which are planned to be implemented on Build-Own-Operate (BOO) or Build-Own-Transfer (BOT) basis.

A Thai private firm moved an unsolicited offer to the government to construct a 52-km underground subway across the capital city at a cost of Tk 60.00 billion. The project is considered to be a prime solution to the city's vexing traffic congestion.

As per the proposal, the Thai private firm will implement the project on BOT basis within three years from signing of the contract.

Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam presided over the meeting of ACEA, also known as the Cabinet Economic Affairs Committee.

The committee also decided to form a high-level committee, headed by the energy secretary, to further scrutinise the proposal for holding the 3rd round international bidding for hydrocarbon exploration in the country's maritime territory.

The Energy Ministry moved the proposal to invite international bidding, and also placed a model production-sharing contract for the committee's consideration.

As per the decision of the Advisers' Committee, representatives from Finance Ministry, IMED, NBR, Law Ministry, Navy, and Bangladesh Bank will be included in the energy secretary-led committee, which was asked to place its report before the cabinet within two weeks.

The committee also nodded to a proposal of the Food Ministry to buy 20 million pieces of jute bags from the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) without giving a mandatory 10 per cent performance guarantee payment.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=21915

Cabinet body approves underground railway project

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Monday endorsed a proposal by the communications ministry to have an underground railway network built by the private sector to mitigate traffic congestion in the capital.

The economic affairs committee, headed by finance and planning adviser Mirza Azizul Islam, however, decided to send the proposal to the Private Infrastructure Committee, which deals with large private sector infrastructure projects, for scrutiny.

‘We have primarily approved the construction of an underground railway system in the city,’ Mirza Azizul Islam told reporters after the meeting.

Communications ministry officials said the cabinet committee’s decision to send the project to the PICOM was surprising as it had approved the project in September 2006 when it was headed by the principal secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office.

The proposal was sent to the cabinet committee for approval to list the mega-project as a private sector projects so that the ministry could start the feasibility study and other relevant work to implement the project, said officials.

‘It is not clear to us why the project needs the PICOM’s approval for the second time,’ said an official.

He said that the proposal was placed before economic affairs committee as it had already been approved by the PICOM.

In November communications adviser MA Matin, at a meeting, decided to award the contract for building the underground railway system to the most competitive bidder on the ‘build own operate’ basis to solve the intolerable transport congestion in the capital.

The provision for constructing an underground railway system was also included in the Strategic Transport Planning for Dhaka which is yet to be approved by the government.

Earlier, the communications ministry suggested a similar project and recommended Contech Ltd, a local firm, for building a 52-km underground railway at a cost of around Tk 6,200 crore on the ‘built-own-operate’ basis.

The ministry in June 2006 selected Contech as it was the lowest bidder in the pre-qualification tender floated by the Bangladesh Railway in 2002. Only two firms, however, took part in the bidding.

Contech offered to build the underground system at a cost of Tk 6,200 crore in four years and to hand it over to the government 34 years later as it sought a 30-year concession to recover its investment and make an adequate amount of profit.

According to Contech’s project design, the underground network will have six routes with double lines touching all the busy and strategic points of the city, with Tongi, Syedabad, Gabtali, Mohakhali, Farmgate, New Market and Sadarghat as some of the important junctions.

http://www.newagebd.com/met.html

Tmac

January 7th, 2008, 08:45 PM

Subway project for Dhaka city gets govt body's nod

what does it mean? It seems every few months various projects get govt. nod and then nothing happens.

Tmac

January 7th, 2008, 08:59 PM

Tk 6,200cr metro plan okayed

http://www.thedailystar.net/photos/2008-01-08__front01.jpg

The advisory committee on economic affairs yesterday approved a proposal for construction of a subway in Dhaka by a private sector firm with an estimated cost of Tk 6,200 crore.

The underground rail system will be constructed on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis under the supervision of Bangladesh Railway, meeting sources said.

"We have approved the proposal to include the Picom (Private Infrastructure Committee) list and now the remaining processes will be done to implement the project," Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam, who chaired the meeting, said.

As the proposal made by the Board of Investment (BoI) has the nod, the government will now float fresh international tender inviting proposals and at the same time, the Planning Commission will prepare a detailed study on the project, sources said.

Once built, the subway will save Tk 5,319 crore per year through saving human working hours and stopping wastage of imported fuel during traffic congestions, says the BoI proposal.

While the experts say that it requires for any mega city to have roads covering at least 25-30 percent of its area for easy traffic movement, the roads and avenues of Dhaka cover only 5-6 percent.

According to the BoI proposal, the 52-kilometre subway would have six routes with 50 stations connecting almost 80 percent of the city area. The underground rail system will have the capacity to transport 40 lakh passengers monthly on an average.

The first route would start from Gabtoli and end at Saidabad via Mohakhali and it would be connected with the second route, which is Uttara to Mohakhali, at the Mohakhali central bus depot.

The third route of Pallabi to IDB Bhaban will be connected with the first route as well.

The fourth route will be from Shyamoli to Elephant Road, which will cover Shyamoli, Adabor, Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi, Zigatola, Rayerbazar and Hazaribagh areas. It will be connected with the first route at Shyamoli and Elephant Road forming the first inner loop.

Starting from Saidabad, the fifth route will end at Tejgaon Satrasta via Malibagh, Moghbazar and Kamalapur Rail Station. It will also be connected with the first route and it will form the second loop almost as long as the first loop in the network.

Completing the entire network, the sixth route from Saidabad to Gulistan will connect all the entry points of the mega city.

The initiative to construct the subway in Dhaka was taken during the BNP-Jamaat-led government and a private company was primarily selected for the project.

After assuming power, the present caretaker government halted the work of the project and in February last year, it said that the next political government would complete the work.

Later in November that year, the government, however, shifted from its decision and made a fresh move about the project considering it as a priority work to ease traffic congestion of the capital.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=18321

mirzazeehan

January 7th, 2008, 10:38 PM

This govt. is moving on with this project really fast..when do you guys think we will actually see the work start?

amar11372

January 7th, 2008, 11:40 PM

what does it mean? It seems every few months various projects get govt. nod and then nothing happens.

Todays decision was final. I believe The council committee on Economic Affairs is the highest governing body dealing with developments and infrastructures. Now the govt will go for a international tender and if another company bids for a lower concession time it will go to that company; if no other bids then Contech with MTR(Technical partner) of Hong Kong will get the project. I just hope they start soon. By the map from the dailystar that Tmac posted, the network looks pretty extensive. All the best to Contech & MTR.

snoq

January 7th, 2008, 11:54 PM

Contech, local construction firm who is pushing the project is actually a proxy company of Sena Kallyan Songstha. And guess who is going to arrange 6000 cr taka for the project? Well none other than Trust bank - defence forces bank. Now if you do the calculation with who are running the country you can see why there is fast track approach on the project.

About 50% of the underground train would be above ground. Since taxpayer has to pay the cost overtime there has to be independent verification on what should be the real cost on half underground and half over land project. People should not be fooled with 100% underground cost when 50% will be over ground. Most importantly there was not any feasibility study done on this project. And Contect has no experience what so ever in any such project. We have seen corruption charges brought against similar contract awarded on Jatrabari flyover project. Project is dead now and people are suffering (I just came back from BD seeing people suffering). I hope this Contech venture does not cause further public suffering. In the context of Bangladesh rival business group who did not get a piece of the contract pie can easily hire a daily star style journalist with money and make headlines with corruption charges. How long we will feed TI with fabricated corruption story?

I don’t have any bias against any private company doing the project. But Armed forces has a duty to protect the country and not turning it to a money making machine. That’s where my (and many others) concern.

I say move this project fast but do it in a way that public benefits yet no fabricated story or made up cost come back to haunt us.

amar11372

January 8th, 2008, 12:17 AM

Thanks for the detail info snoq. By the way even though Sena Kallyan Songstha and Trust Bank are involved and they are both own by the Army, I don't believe this will have a similar fate as Jatrabari flyover project. Since these companies is not owned by a single person like the company that was building the Jatrabari flyover project. Even if a BNP/AL govt comes to power in the future, I dont believe they will purposefully stop the work since Sena Kallyan Songstha is a welfare trust company for the ex-servicemen of our country.

mirzazeehan

January 8th, 2008, 12:21 AM

Thanks for the detail info snoq.

Yes,thanks for the info SNOQ...now I am almost sure that work will start on this project very soon.

alladin212

January 8th, 2008, 03:08 AM

Tk 6,200cr metro plan okayed

Rejaul Karim Byron

http://www.thedailystar.net/photos/2008-01-08__front01.jpg
The advisory committee on economic affairs yesterday approved a proposal for construction of a subway in Dhaka by a private sector firm with an estimated cost of Tk 6,200 crore.

The underground rail system will be constructed on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis under the supervision of Bangladesh Railway, meeting sources said.

"We have approved the proposal to include in the PICOM (Private Infrastructure Committee) list and now the remaining processes will be done to implement the project," Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam, who chaired the meeting, said.

The government will now float fresh international tender inviting proposals and at the same time the Planning Commission will prepare a detailed study on the project, sources said.

Once built, the subway will save Tk 5,319 crore a year through saving human working hours and stopping wastage of imported fuel due to traffic congestions, says the proposal made by the Board of Investment (BoI) .

While the experts say that it requires for any mega city to have roads covering at least 25-30 percent of its area for easy traffic movement, the roads of Dhaka cover only 5-6 percent.

According to the BoI proposal, the 52-kilometre subway would have six routes with 50 stations connecting almost 80 percent of the city area. The underground rail system will have the capacity to transport on average 40 lakh passengers a month.

The first route would start from Gabtoli and end at Sayedabad via Mohakhali and it would be connected with the second route, Uttara to Mohakhali, at the Mohakhali bus terminal.

The third route, Pallabi to IDB Bhaban, will be connected with the first route as well.

The fourth route will be from Shyamoli to Elephant Road, which will cover Shyamoli, Adabor, Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi, Jigatola, Rayerbazar and Hazaribagh areas. It will be connected with the first route at Shyamoli and Elephant Road forming the first inner loop.

Starting from Sayedabad, the fifth route will end at Tejgaon Satrasta via Malibagh, Moghbazar and Kamalapur Rail Station. It will also be connected with the first route and it will form the second loop almost as long as the first loop in the network.

Completing the entire network, the sixth route from Sayedabad to Gulistan will connect all the entry points of the mega city.

The initiative to construct the subway in Dhaka was taken during the BNP-Jamaat government and a private company was primarily selected for the project.

After assuming power, the present caretaker government halted the work of the project and in February last year, it said that the next political government would complete the work.

Later in November that year, the government, however, shifted from its decision and made a fresh move about the project considering it as a priority work to ease traffic congestion of the capital.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=18321

clearsky

January 8th, 2008, 07:34 AM

So, they have decided to go for fresh bid? I thought there was one company already selected (or interested) for this project and they already made several presentations with regards to their plan. Anyway, something needs to be done fast, underground may be the starting point but should not be the end!

Tmac

January 14th, 2008, 08:35 PM

$5.2b transport plan for Dhaka okayed

The communications ministry yesterday approved the Strategic Transport Plan (STP), a $5.2 billion mass transport scheme incorporating an underground railway system, to ease traffic congestion and improve the communications system in Dhaka.

The ministry will send the plan to the council of advisers in a week for approval. The project will commence on completion of a two-year feasibility study and will take 20 years to complete.

Other components of the project are development of traffic management, introduction of bus rapid transit (BRT), non-motorised transport (NMT) lanes, pedestrian facilities and railways, and completion of eastern portion of the circular waterways.

BRT allows buses to operate on exclusive bus-only lanes separated from other types of traffic and usually permits high speed and thus helps ease traffic congestion.

On November 4, 2007, the government decided to introduce metro service before starting the work of elevated expressway or light rail under the STP.

The metro, involving $3.1 billion, will have underground railway service from Tongi and Gabtoli to Jatrabari and from Gulshan-2 to Gulshan-1 via Asad Gate, Shyamoli and Mohammadpur, SM Salehuddin, additional executive director of Dhaka Transport Coordination Board, told the reporters at a briefing in the communications ministry yesterday.

There will be 50 road projects under STP and the east-west road connection will be a key feature of the development of the city communications system, he said.

Communications Adviser Maj Gen (retd) Ghulam Quader said development partners including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have expressed their willingness to fund the project. "So money won't be a problem in implementing it," he added.

He, however, said that to build a subway in an overcrowded city like Dhaka would not be very easy, as such a major construction would require stoppage of traffic movement for a long time.

Asked whether the government has any plans to improve the existing communications system, he said, "The existing facilities and infrastructure won't do, we'll have to find alternatives."

The adviser said that the rail crossings in the city cause heavy traffic jam and his ministry is also thinking about a way out to reduce traffic congestion and ease transportation for the city-dwellers.

Saying that the state-owned BRTC (Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation) management has improved, he stressed the need to improve its service more.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=19312

Tmac

January 14th, 2008, 09:34 PM

why does it need to be "okayed" again? How many times are they going to give "okays" to the same project? 2 years of feasibility study? I think we can go ahead and assume this project will never see the light of the day. in 2 years the new government will cancel the study and the tender. They will offer a new tender and that will take another 2/3 years until another government steps in. It will keep going around and around. We will have 30 tenders and 30 feasibility studies before anything happens. BD must be the leading country in calling tenders and feasibility studies.

Tmac

January 14th, 2008, 09:40 PM

amar11372

January 15th, 2008, 12:30 AM

every week they go ahead and give "okays" to the same project they had "okayed" a week before. They have these cabinet meetings where they "okay" the same project 50 times. Tender and feasibility studies are the most commonly used words at these meetings after "okay".

Tmac notice the article says "The metro, involving $3.1 billion", the one thats proposed by Contech is about $900 million. This might be the govt's own initiative to create (or expand in the future) a metro under the Strategic Transport Plan. I believe the feasibility study for the Contech's metro is already completed, reciceved "okey" from Communication ministry and that they are just waiting for a nod from the Private Infrastructure committee.

alladin212

January 15th, 2008, 02:40 AM

its easy to get frustrated when we fall into "okay" loop...there is no end to it like an infinity loop..

clearsky

January 15th, 2008, 04:01 AM

20 years is too long a period. They should implement this within 10 years at the latest. Otherwise by the time they will finish this project there will be similar projects long overdue. They should move from "meeting demands" to "exceeding demands" mode. This is how everyone is developing. How come our foreign trained experts miss this???:bash:

why does it need to be "okayed" again? How many times are they going to give "okays" to the same project? 2 years of feasibility study? I think we can go ahead and assume this project will never see the light of the day. in 2 years the new government will cancel the study and the tender. They will offer a new tender and that will take another 2/3 years until another government steps in. It will keep going around and around. We will have 30 tenders and 30 feasibility studies before anything happens. BD must be the leading country in calling tenders and feasibility studies.

Very true! They okay the same projects multiple times after being Okayed multiple times by the previous governments. Feels like our government is run by out of touch aliens from the planet called "never see and learn".

tanzirian

January 15th, 2008, 05:12 PM

Tk 6,200cr metro plan okayed

Rejaul Karim Byron

http://www.thedailystar.net/photos/2008-01-08__front01.jpg

Thanks for the map Alladin. I wonder how many separate lines they will have to subdivide the system into, and which will be the main hub(s).

TIslam

January 15th, 2008, 05:54 PM

Very true! They okay the same projects multiple times after being Okayed multiple times by the previous governments. Feels like our government is run by out of touch aliens from the planet called "never see and learn".

It appears to me, there is a lack of leadership problem among people who run Bangladesh, politicians and civil bureaucracy alike. Those "foreign trained" folks were either never in leadership positions or they forget all about it, the moment they touch Bangladesh soil.

Skyprince

January 15th, 2008, 06:02 PM

There is no specific time frame mentioned in the article, well a city of 10-15 million metro pop like Dhaka seriously needs a subway, it's an emerging city with rapidly rising GDP and economic activities, I think the proposed route is very nice covering almost all main parts of Dhaka.

Tmac

January 15th, 2008, 08:37 PM

Viability of metro for mass transport still questioned

http://www.thedailystar.net/photos/2008-01-16__city03.jpg

Government decision to go for underground railway for Dhaka's mass transport system is not based on any feasibility study, said leading transport experts.

A comprehensive feasibility study should have been carried out first to ascertain the types of transport suitable for the city and affordable for the people, they said.

Dr Rahmatullah, policy advisor of Transport Sector Management Reform of the Planning Commission, said feasibility study is required to determine suitable types of transport and make it available at affordable cost. “It all depends on study where to construct underground rail and where elevated rail,” he said.

Dr Mahabubul Bari, senior assistant manager, Transport for London, UK, said that mass rapid transit (MRT) system is designed anywhere in the world to suit the needs of the mass people and made affordable for them.

"It will go just futile if left as a mere profit-making enterprise in the hands of private entrepreneurs," said Bari, who has reviewed the STP. "This is why government subsidy in metro system is a general practice all over the world."

"Metro transport system must be integrated properly and designed in harmony with other modes of transport like pedestrians, bicycles and rickshaws," he said, "Otherwise, it will not serve the purpose of carrying the mass people."

But the way government has taken the decision for underground railway clearly shows that these factors have not been taken into considerations, he said.

The government on November 4 decided to go for underground railway network on a priority basis to resolve transport need and mitigate traffic congestion in the capital city.

The 12-member committee, formed on October 25, 2007 and headed by the then Communications Adviser MA Matin, decided to implement the project with private entrepreneurs on build-own-operate basis.

The committee prioritised underground railway out of three proposed options underground rail, elevated expressway and monorail. The Board of Investment (BoI) has been asked to solicit private sector investors for the job.

But according to Bangladesh Private Sector Infrastructure Guidelines of 2004, in case of projects involving solicitation, the government "will identify suitable project, carry out feasibility studies, prepare commercial and contractual framework, prepare tender documents and seek tenders from investors…."

Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, vice-chancellor of Brac University, who headed a 31-member advisory committee on STP, said that the committee recommended metro railway system as a long-term solution to transport problem of Dhaka.

"But a technical and economic study for underground railway should have preceded the decision," he said. "Feasibility study is a must and government has to carry out it."

Mubasshar Hussain, president of the Institute of Architects Bangladesh, said technical and socio-economic surveys are a must before going for underground rail to ascertain feasibility with regard to natural condition, maintenance and people's affordability.

Khondker Neaz Rahman, an urban planner, said justification of such an expensive project is questionable in a country like Bangladesh that does not have plenty of wealth.

"We must explore how we can reap maximum benefit out of least expense," he said.

According to sources, expensive and investment-intensive venture like underground railway would be beneficial for international financing institutions, multinational investor organisations, contractors and bureaucrats.

The ministry in June selected a local firm, out of only two, to construct a 52-km tube in four years in the city at a cost of around Tk 6,200 crore, said sources. However, the government now will float fresh tender for selecting a private company for it.

Metro transport system for mass rapid transit (MRT) is basically based on railway service. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system may be a provisional measure for an interim period as the construction of rail-based MRT will take at least six to seven years.

There are three proposed BRT systems in the STP. One is from Uttara to Sayedabad along Pragati Sarani (Biswa Road), another is from Gabtoli to Jatrabai along Mirpur Road and the remaining one is from Uttara to old town along the Airport Road.

Benefit of BRT is that it is capable of carrying ten to twelve thousand people at a time per hour in one direction. But the ultimate goal for metro transport system should be railway-based MRT, Dr Rahmatullah said.

According to Rahmatullah, around 80 to 100 private motor vehicles are registered every day in the capital leading to more and more traffic congestion. This is why an integrated metro transport system is required soon.

He underscored the need for optimum utilisation of the existing roads freeing them from illegal occupancy. Otherwise, he said, no attempt will yield any result in resolving transport crisis in the capital.

Communications Secretary Dr Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman said that they would carry out a feasibility study later.

"We have undertaken the underground railway project on priority basis as the 12-member committee of experts thought that it is more suitable and viable," he said.

"We had to take a decision in this regard even before feasibility study, because so far it has been only talks and no tangible action," he said.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=19398

amar11372

January 15th, 2008, 09:10 PM

^^ This is ridicules, the metro will never get build. I just don't see the problem. Since a private company offer to build the metro under build-own-transfer, the govt doesn't have to spend a single cent on this project and after 35 years the govt gets to own the entire metro system. And why is this guy Dr Mahabubul Bari from Transport for London talking about subsidy; the last thing we need is more subsidy from the govt. I would rather see a private company operating the metro than the govt. Since the govt's track record with rail transportation (Bangladesh Railway) is simply crap.

DzzzzMcGzzz

January 17th, 2008, 05:05 AM

i have a hard copy of the Strategic Transportation Plan (STP) I'm reviewing it for my research. It's about one inch thick and is quite thorough. I'm really impressed by it.
The metro rail mentioned in the STP I guess is technically the same one which was just passed for approval. But it was supposed to be built in 20 years. the STP was a full study to bring infrastructure on a planned basis. but I think the approvers have jumped the gun, and voted to build the most impressive part of the STP first. they couldn't hold back? its disconcerting when a project is approved for so much money before its really analyzed.

DzzzzMcGzzz

January 17th, 2008, 05:16 AM

Tmac notice the article says "The metro, involving $3.1 billion", the one thats proposed by Contech is about $900 million. This might be the govt's own initiative to create (or expand in the future) a metro under the Strategic Transport Plan. I believe the feasibility study for the Contech's metro is already completed, reciceved "okey" from Communication ministry and that they are just waiting for a nod from the Private Infrastructure committee.

these are the same projects, i'm quite positive. they wouldn't build two different train systems. but the 3.1 billion project had different routes, so i don't know what's happening now. i feel like this 900 million project's routes were just drawn on a piece of paper and brought to be approved. the 3.1 billion project was studied carefully by the Louis Berger Group for the STP, and the routes are carefully planned and chosen.

snoq

January 17th, 2008, 07:05 AM

G2G

January 17th, 2008, 07:42 AM

hi Dzzz..

This is the unfortunate reality of most of the projects. Things that should be done are not done that easily and where there are big money involvements, you will always find such hasty decisions.

amar11372

January 17th, 2008, 08:53 AM

I am sorry to see you guys are getting frustrated but yet to catch up with politics for gaining control over the project. I had left few hints in my previous post and few were metioned in recent articles with "OK" signal.

Here are two parties contending for the project and financial gain. One is Sena Kalyan Songstha with financial backing from Trust Bank and another is world Bank/IMF with their money from World influencial capitals.

I can assure you if Sena Kalyan gets the project, Daily star and Prothom Alo , propaganda wing of these influential captial will be hired to run corruption story. And subsequently TI will rank us up in its concocted index.

I hope you catch up sooner than later.....

Hello snoq, I understand the financial gain by Sena Kalyan Songstha and Trust Bank; but why would world Bank/IMF benefit from this project? Since world Bank/IMF never take equity in projects and lend money and interest rate that is MUCH lower than the retail bank rate, wouldn't we be the one to benefit and not world Bank/IMF. I understand world Bank/IMF prescribe conditions to the money they lend but in lots of cases the cheap interest rate they charge outweighs the burden of the conditions. And since world Bank/IMF doesn't take equity share in projects when the metro is implemented they wont have and power to make any decision about it. Also the govt could always go for financing from Asian development Bank. OR is it that Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed was a economist at the World Bank for OVER twenty years?

snoq

January 18th, 2008, 04:57 AM

Hello snoq, I understand the financial gain by Sena Kalyan Songstha and Trust Bank; but why would world Bank/IMF benefit from this project? Since world Bank/IMF never take equity in projects and lend money and interest rate that is MUCH lower than the retail bank rate, wouldn't we be the one to benefit and not world Bank/IMF. I understand world Bank/IMF prescribe conditions to the money they lend but in lots of cases the cheap interest rate they charge outweighs the burden of the conditions. And since world Bank/IMF doesn't take equity share in projects when the metro is implemented they wont have and power to make any decision about it. Also the govt could always go for financing from Asian development Bank. OR is it that Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed was a economist at the World Bank for OVER twenty years?

Well WB is front end setup of most prominent industrialize and imperialist nations. One of the goals of WB/IMF is to loan excess fund to developing countries for interest earning. But under the veil of money lending there are so much policy dictate and hidden agendas that eventually WB/IMF and their imperialist financiers siphoned off many times more money and resource from these developing countries. One of the way WB/IMF do it by perusing and promoting interests of financing countries business and political agenda.

So this BOT (Build-Own-Transfer) contact for underground train lets say 25-30 years will generate many times more revenue than estimated $1 billion or 7000 cr taka project implementation cost. And we are not talking about simply interest earning for WB/IMF or their financing countries. We are talking about many more billions of dollars as operator ship earning by company from one of these financing countries. If WB/IMF has its way, over 25-30 years, many billions of dollars of operation earnings will be taken out of Bangladesh. Bangladesh will loose huge amount of hard earn foreign currency.

Where as if Contech or any other local company gets the project we just have to pay big portion of that one billion dollar construction cost. Operator earnings of many billions of dollars will stay in the country.

Being ex WB employee Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam and Fakhruddin Ahmed is most trusted WB/IMF stooges. But whole interim entity is working to benefit WB/IMF agenda.

When Mirza Azizul Islam pushed the approval process to PICOM (Private Infrastructure Committee) and Strategic Transport Plan (STP) was revived from deep freeze it was all clear WB stooges were pushing agenda of their handler in Washington.

This project can very easily be implemented as a stand alone one without interrupting STP and what not. Another specific change in advisory council was made to facilitate WB/IMF interest in this project. That was moving ex communication advisor retd Maj. Gen Matin from communication ministry to home ministry. Matin being ex army man, WB and its stooges did not feel muti billion dollars safe in his hand.

Oh, Asian Development Bank is financed by same industrial and imperialist countries – US, UK and EU nations (and Japan). So going to Asian development bank for loan is almost same as WB/IMF.

Well you guys missed a lot but hope you can catch up soon……

alladin212

January 19th, 2008, 07:18 PM

Thanks for the map Alladin. I wonder how many separate lines they will have to subdivide the system into, and which will be the main hub(s).

ur welcome tanzirian.....i have no idea how they will do it though...i will take anything either metro(skyrail) or underground subway i dont care..lol...hopefully someday its gonna happen inshaAllah... :-)

amar11372

February 28th, 2008, 01:22 AM

Envoy says Russia may invest in Dhaka subway system

Wed, Feb 27th, 2008 3:30 pm BdST
Dhaka, Feb 27 (bdnews24.com) – The Russia ambassador to Bangladesh said Wednesday that his country was interested in investing in a subway system for Dhaka.

Ambassador Gennady Trotsenko told communications adviser Ghulam Quader that Russia would also like to provide technical assistance in the construction of the subway for the capital city.

Trotsenko told reporters after the meeting that he had met the communications adviser at his office to discuss bilateral issues.

He said Russia had extensive experience in manufacturing and operating subway systems in its own cities, and wanted to assist Bangladesh in the proposed mass transit project for Dhaka.

The envoy said Russia was also interested in investing in a number of other sectors including modernising the transport system throughout the country and building and running power plants.

"Power plants in Bangladesh face diverse difficulties that cause power disruptions much of the time, but there is no such problem in Russia," the ambassador said.

The communications adviser said many countries and donor agencies had shown an interest in providing financial and technical assistance to the capital's subway project.

Donor agencies are satisfied with Bangladesh because it repays its loans on time, Ghulam Quader said.

"We have also received proposals from non-resident Bangladeshis," he said.

"We have prepared project proposals and are now looking for consultants," the adviser added.

http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=42087&cid=2

meghnarmajhi

February 29th, 2008, 08:14 AM

I think Russian expertise will be of great help.

amar11372

March 3rd, 2008, 11:46 PM

BR to seek IIFC’s opinion on underground railway in Dhaka
Staff Correspondent

The Bangladesh Railways has decided to seek the Infrastructure Investment Facilitation Centre’s opinion for conducting a feasibly study for the construction of an underground railway network by a private sector company to mitigate traffic congestion in the city.

‘Since this is a new concept to us, we have decided to seek the IIFC’a opinion,’ said a senior official of the Bangladesh Railways on Monday. The IIFC, a government-owned company, provides professional services to line ministries and agencies of the government to frame infrastructure projects for the private sector.

The BR last week asked the communications ministry’s permission to seek IIFC’s opinion on whether there was a need for a feasibility study as Contech Ltd, a local firm that had earlier been pre-qualified by the government for construction of the underground network, requested issuance of a work order for beginning the preliminary work of the underground railway project.

Officials of the BR said that giving the company a work order without conducting a feasibility study would be violation of some clauses stipulated in the government’s Private Sector Infrastructure Guideline. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in January endorsed the communications ministry’s proposal to have an underground railway network built by the private sector. The underground railway system will be constructed under the ‘build-own-operate’ basis.

The provision for constructing an underground railway system was also included in the Strategic Transport Planning for Dhaka approved by the interim government recently.

The communications ministry in June 2006 selected Contech as it was the lowest bidder in the pre-qualification tender floated by the Bangladesh Railway in 2002 for building a 52-km underground railway network at a cost of around Tk 6,200 crore on the ‘build-own-operate’ basis.

Contech offered to build the underground system in four years and to hand it over to the government 34 years later as it sought a 30-year concession to recover its investment and make an adequate amount of profit. According to Contech’s project design, the underground railway network will have six routes with double lines touching all the busy and strategic points of the city, with Tongi, Syedabad, Gabtali, Mohakhali, Farmgate, New Market and Sadarghat as some of the important junctions.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=17814985

amar11372

March 14th, 2008, 08:46 PM

In support of a sustainable and affordable transport system for Dhaka

Engineer Shafiqul Alam

MANY have written about the nagging traffic congestion of Dhaka, some blame the traffic police for their miss-management, some suggest withdrawing the old vehicles and introducing more new vehicles, some highlight the need for making foot-over bridges and the most interesting thing is that some think that the foot-paths have to be wide. But from the transportation engineering point of view, removal of traffic congestion is impossible by the above-mentioned way.

Dhaka is one of the most densely populated mega cities in the world with its present population of over 13 million. The percentage of roads is far below the standard limit (only 7.0% instead of 30%). Whenever population exceeds one million, a mass transit should be introduced as a thumb rule of transportation engineering to ease traffic movement and save valuable human working hours.

Studies show that in a single lane in one direction in an hour buses can carry only 5000 passengers at an average speed of 10-15 km per hour. Monorail or sky train can carry 20,000 passengers. On the other hand, underground metro rail can carry 60,000-70,000 passengers at an average speed of 60 kph.

With the introduction of more buses, the environment of Dhaka would be more polluted and roads would be totally stagnant. In contrast to this, metro rail is totally free from emission as it runs on electricity. This electricity would be produced independently from coal or gas.

In case of elevated expressway (EE), it is impossible to make complete network throughout the city as if is already saturated. That is why EE for certain portion is not sensible. Any decision like that would make the same scenario like two fly-overs. Most of the buses do not use Mohakhali fly-over because they would not get the passengers there and can not go to Gulshan. There is just one directional movement there as a result of which buses reveresly coming from Banai can not go to Shatrasta and so on. On the other hand, the fly-over road-space has been wasted due to the columns and other works like beautification. Normally EE is used for the highway buses to pass the city without using the roads. Tollway of Chittagong also remains empty.

Construction of foot-over bridges is not a very good decision as well because foot-over bridges at various locations of Dhaka remain empty. People don't feel it comfortable to climb upward due to psychological stress; rather, they like to go downward first, then to upward and Gulistan and Karwanbazar underpasses are the examples of that.

Again construction of underpasses is not needed now because there would be free underpass at the metro station.

Some compares Dhaka with Bangkok and some with that of New York. Bangkok has sky train but that is not a complete network and the fare is very high (Thai Baht 15-30, almost Taka 30-60). The same situation was there in Australia for a segment of metro. The people were not interested to use that, because metro should be for the people but the people are not for metro. For that, they modified the network. On the other hand, the US government gives subsidy for metro because of its sound economy. Metro is profitable in Japan, China, India, France and so on. To speak the truth, the underground metro has a proven track record of 150 years and more than 177 cities are using this transport comfortably.

Considering the above facts, India has introduced metro in Calcutta and Delhi and one in Bangalore is under construction. Moreover, they are going beneath the Ganga in Calcutta to make the network complete. If metro is not profitable or is not the best solution, then why are they going to build another strip in Calcutta, even though they are the manufacturer of buses? Another point is to be noted that they have used cut & cover method and kept the metro fare just like bus fare. Some think that in case of earthquake or flood there would be sabotage in the tunnel. But metro tunnel can withstand earthquake in the magnitude of 9.2 in the Richter scale. On the other hand, the overground structures can sustain only 6.0 in the same scale. Anything like SIDR would totally collapse monorail or sky train. There is no chance of the entrance of flood water in the tunnel.

In this regard, one can check the under-passes and underground parking of Bashundara and so on. Other acts of sabotage are also not possible due to the integrated security, auto-initiated braking system, fire suppression system etc.

Future expansion has to be considered and that is only possible in the underground and we can make several networks (six networks-up to 180 feet) beneath the ground, one after another. For monorail, sky train or EE, we can never make lines one above another.

Since Dhaka is an overpopulated city, here ridership is also high and metro would be able to cater to more than 1.5-2.0 million (15-20 lakh) passengers per day and by adjusting headway 6.0-7.0 million (60-70 lakh) passengers can be carried.

Valuable human working hours are wasted every day and wastage of imported fuel due to jam is a huge loss. With the introduction of metro these, losses would be totally minimised and the economic gain would be Tk. 60-70 million (6000-7000 crore) per year.

If cut & cover method is applied for the tunnel construction, the total cost for Dhaka would be Tk. 70 billion (7000 crore). Eighty per cent of city dwellers would then get a metro station within one km or less walking distance and by adopting BOT (Build - operate - Transfer), the fare can be just like that of bus. The people of all classes would be able to use underground.

People always feel bored in using buses and women, children and the handicapped people are not habituated to use buses. That is why they use rickshaws and removal of rickshaws is not a wise decision as well.

One of the most unwanted but usual experiences in Dhaka is that auto-rickshaw- and cab-drivers want to move as per their will or charge Taka 10-20 or more than what is read in the meters, even though they are sitting idle. This is a violation of citizen's rights.

Traffic police personnel have nothing to do. Because at Mohakhali, some buses go to Shatrasta, some turn to Farmgate and some make the U-turn coming from farmgate or others go to Banani or Gulshan and some go to Shatrasta. In such a haphazard situation, what will traffic police do? Modernisation of signalling will do nothing, too. These steps were taken previously but the result is not very good and is far from satisfaction.

Only two per cent of the population of Dhaka own cars and with the improvement of economy, the rate will increase significantly. We can not restrict it. When metro would be in operation, this class of people would use metro during the peak hour and during the off-peak hour, they would use this own transport.

For EE, sky-train & monorail, the aesthetic view of Dhaka would be destroyed. The city would be more dirty and shaded. The exhaust from BRT (for EE) would make an isolated shade due to the turbulence in the upper region. For sky/mono, there would, once again, be a chaotic situation. It can carry few passengers. That is why people would not be able to depend on it and the use of sky/mono for some portion and that of bus for some portion are not sensible. To cope with the situation arising out of ever-growing population, we have to introduce heavy metro (underground metro rail) of independent network, where all the city entry points would be connected and the busiest areas would be covered according to the existing traffic-flow pattern.

Considering the fare, sustainability, future expansion, economic gain, track record, and environmental impact, underground metro rail by cut & cover method is the only viable solution to mitigate traffic congestion of Dhaka. That will eventually make pollution-free green Dhaka possible. In this regard, there is no denying of the fact that we may have to go beneath the first network for the second network in the near future to cater to the huge number of the city dwellers as the population growth rate is very high in Dhaka. Then we may use TBM for some portion. We need the balanced diet but not the rich food.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=28058

nayeem007

April 27th, 2008, 07:44 AM

It's very unfortunate that no concrete measure is taken to setup Subway or Metro system in DHaka. There are random reports in newspapers after every few months, but real work is yet to start...

With the increasing population in the city, a mass transit system is vital.

dwdwone

September 19th, 2008, 07:43 AM

Did they ever start building this system?

tanzirian

September 19th, 2008, 04:34 PM

Did they ever start building this system?

No, between the necessary finance and complex physical logistics, I expect that it will take a decade or two before we see this operational. But eventually, I do expect it to be realized, as it will become increasingly necessary to have one for the city to function.

amar11372

September 19th, 2008, 07:26 PM

Did they ever start building this system?

tanzirian is right. Recently the Dhaka STP (infrastructure plan) was approve and has started being implemented. But the metro construction will start in the latter part of the second phase through the third phase, which probably means 8-12 years before the 1st line gets built.

tislam84

September 20th, 2008, 03:49 AM

tanzirian

September 20th, 2008, 07:49 AM

I think a skyrail would be better for Dhaka than a subway. When there is monsoon, a lot of the roads get waterlogged - if there is a subway system, I can see that becoming waterlogged too. A lot of the underground roadcrossings in Dhaka suffers this fate. A skyrail would not have this problem.

I thought that too, and have written as such previously...at the same time, underground has been possible at Kolkata, which is geographically similar to Dhaka.

amar11372

September 20th, 2008, 05:50 PM

I think a skyrail would be better for Dhaka than a subway. When there is monsoon, a lot of the roads get waterlogged - if there is a subway system, I can see that becoming waterlogged too. A lot of the underground roadcrossings in Dhaka suffers this fate. A skyrail would not have this problem.

Dhaka is not the only city in this planet where it get waterlogged.

meghnarmajhi

September 21st, 2008, 12:43 PM

besides - i think skyrail will cost a lot more

manbil777

September 22nd, 2008, 08:50 AM

besides - i think skyrail will cost a lot more

Among various mass-transit systems,

1. Underground subway (metro-rail)
2. Bus Rapid Transit
3. Light-rail
4. skyrail
5. Monorail

Skyrail and monorail has the highest install expenditure (per unit of length such as KM, Mile) and also one of the lowest peak-hour passenger capacity. You need massive low-cost people-movers in Dhaka. Sky rail won't cut it. The monorail introduced in downtown Kuala Lumpur is a more or less a fiscal failure and embarrassment for the govt. Same with the ambitious skyrail projects in Manila and Bangkok.

Unfortunately sky-rail is so far only a 'show-case' type project -- beneficial only to the Mass-transit system supplier (Siemens, Bombardier et al).

I remain convinced that Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) is the cheapest option for Dhaka (for now). The equipment does not cost an arm and a leg and there's no need to install rails for buses to run on! :)

Later a subway can be added (they take twenty years to plan and build anyway). The subway can intermesh easily with the BRTS through various interchanges/junctions in the center of the city where the same ticket-transfer can be used.

tislam84

October 13th, 2008, 10:59 PM

Metro rail by 2013
Tk 10cr feasibility study from December, work to start next year
M Abul Kalam Azad

The government has decided to start construction of a subway in the capital in the middle of next year to be completed by 2013 to improve communication and ease the nagging traffic congestion.

The decision was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting on construction of metro rail and elevated expressway held at the communications ministry yesterday.

Overcoming the long bureaucratic wrangling, the meeting decided that feasibility study on construction of the subway will be funded by the government, meeting sources said.

Tender for the Tk 10 crore study will be floated next month. The study is likely to be started in December and completed by June next year.

The ambitious project for building a 60-km metro railway with an estimated cost of Tk 10,000 crore aims at carrying 4,000 people per hour adding a new dimension to city transport.

The underground railway system will be built on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis under the supervision of Bangladesh Railway (BR), meeting sources said.

“We want to start the task so that the next government finds it easy to complete it smoothly,” Communications Adviser Ghulam Quader told reporters after the meeting.

Yesterday's meeting was convened to resolve all problems relating to the subway construction.

Initiated in 2002, the feasibility study could not be started with the issue of its funding unresolved. The communications ministry wanted government funding of it while the planning ministry insisted on looking for foreign funds.

In August 2003, the BR sent a proposal to the planning ministry through the communications ministry to carry out the feasibility study using government's resources.

But an inter-ministerial meeting later decided that the decision in this regard should only be taken after finalisation of the Dhaka strategic transport plan (STP), which received government nod in February this year.

In October 2005, the railway sent another proposal to the planning ministry seeking Japanese assistance for the study. However, no further action was taken when Japan refused to fund the project.

The following year the same proposal sought government funding. In May 2006, the planning ministry returned the proposal, again suggesting the railway should find a donor for the study after approval of the STP.

Finally, in April this year, the communications ministry recommended the study could be undertaken using government money provided the funds are reimbursed in the form of a "success fee" from the winning bidder.

And the communications ministry sent this proposal to the planning ministry on July 13 for approval, sources at yesterday's meeting said.

After the meeting, Communications Secretary Mahbubur Rahman said, "To carry out the feasibility study, we don't need to depend on donors like World Bank or others."

Echoing his views, BR Director General (DG) Md Belayet Hossain said, “We have to finance the study.”

The project was delayed by years due to bureaucratic wrangling and lack of coordination among different agencies, railway officials said.

The communications adviser said there is no alternative to constructing the subway as soon as possible to increase mobility of people in the capital.

Meanwhile, a Board of Investment proposal had earlier said there would be six routes with 50 stations on the subway that would connect almost 80 percent of the city area.

But sources present at yesterday's meeting said the routes and stations might be changed after the feasibility study.

Source: The Daily Star, http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=58628

amar11372

October 14th, 2008, 03:18 AM

^^ I am gona wait till they actually start to build this before I get my hopes up.

sas

October 14th, 2008, 05:15 AM

Likewise... :P

tislam84

October 14th, 2008, 10:43 PM

If they start it, I really hope that they finish it. I don't want to see it become a fiasco like the Gulistan-Jatrabari Flyover project.

slashcruise

October 15th, 2008, 02:53 PM

If they are going to wait it will just increase the cost and is going to be incredibly hard for Bangaldesh to finance it...They also need to look at Delhi metro for inspiration and my advice to them is to appoint Delhi metro as their consultant as it is among top 5 world's profit making metros,Delhi metro is not only has world class standards and in some case leads the world when it comes to punctuality (99.95% in 2007 stats) and also better in maintenance....Their average train does more commuter trips than almost all of the metro systems in the world,,,moreover their fares are affordable as well in comparison to Indian wages as well.....

amar11372

October 19th, 2008, 03:35 PM

If they are going to wait it will just increase the cost and is going to be incredibly hard for Bangladesh to finance it...They also need to look at Delhi metro for inspiration and my advice to them is to appoint Delhi metro as their consultant as it is among top 5 world's profit making metros,Delhi metro is not only has world class standards and in some case leads the world when it comes to punctuality (99.95% in 2007 stats) and also better in maintenance....Their average train does more commuter trips than almost all of the metro systems in the world,,,moreover their fares are affordable as well in comparison to Indian wages as well.....

Well the consultant who will do the feasibility study will be picked by a tender so if Delhi metro can do the work for the lowest price only then they will be picked; Also Dhaka metro in going to be build by the private sector through 30 something years in concession (Build-own-operate-transfer) so I dont think Delhi Metro's model can work for Dhaka's metro.

manbil777

February 6th, 2009, 10:57 PM

^^A little belated however I think in one way Delhi Metro did have a good start. They got the city management or Rail management off their back (independent management reporting directly to parliament). Unless you get these corrupt BR monkeys off their back -- any feasibility will remain just that for the Dhaka Subway project.

nayeem007

April 5th, 2009, 08:03 PM

Metro rail scheme stuck in red tape

Contractor asks for removing bottlenecks to help start work in 6 months
Staff CorrespondentThe private company that was awarded the contract to build the capital's metro rail system has urged the government to clear soon the bureaucratic bottleneck, so it may begin construction within six months.

In a presentation yesterday at the Ministry of Communications, the company representatives said they already found a financer, and want to complete the details of the design and the negotiations with the government within six months.

The fate of much talked about metro rail in Dhaka city has been entangled in bureaucratic red tapes as the ministry has yet to form a metro rail authority for monitoring, controlling and supervising the project.

Contech Ltd, the lowest bidder in the tender, yesterday informed the communications minister that it already struck a deal with a Japanese company, Itochu Corporation, which agreed to provide 60 percent of funding as a soft loan. Yusuku Morinaga, the representative of the Japanese company yesterday handed over the letter of commitment at the meeting.

The Army Welfare Trust will invest the remaining 40 percent of the capital raising it from the local capital market, he said, while the engineering corps of the Bangladesh Army is to provide technical support for the project. Representatives of the army engineering corps were also present at the meeting.

"The first phase of the work will be done within three to four years using cut and cover (CC) method, once they get the work permit from the government. It will cost around 10 to 12 thousand crore taka, the exact amount of which we will be able to tell after the design is finalised," said Masud Reza, managing director of Contech Ltd.

Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain assured the builders that the government will issue a letter of intent (LOI) as soon as possible after examining the existing rules and regulations regarding the matter. He also said the government will soon form a metro rail authority too.

The cabinet decided to provide the work of constructing the metro rail to the lowest bidder Contech Ltd under a build operate and transfer (BOT) deal on January 7 last year, but the company could not start construction as it has yet to get the LOI from the government.

According to the Contech plan, subway trains will operate on six routes with fares ranging from Tk 5 to Tk 25. It will take four and a half years to complete the project.

Initially, the company will lay tracks underground at a shallow depth of only 24 feet, with an option to lay more tracks further down.

In the first phase of construction, using the cut and cover method, the metro rail will operate on six routes covering 52 kilometres of distance between Sayedabad and Gabtoli via Mohakhali, while another will run between Uttara and Mohakhali via the airport.

In the second phase, 4 branch lines will be laid, the first of which will run between Pallabi and IDB Bhaban of Agargaon via Mirpur Section 10, the second one will run from Shaymoli to Shahbagh via Jhigatola, the third one will connect Sayedabad with Bangla Motor via Komolapur and Moghbazar. The fourth will run between Gulistan and Sadarghat via the Judge Court.

There will be 50 stations in the 52-kilometre long metro railway system providing easy transport to 80 percent of the city residents, who will have access to a metro station within one kilometre of their residences and workplaces.

In its election manifesto Awami League (AL) pledged, among many other things, construction of a metro tunnel, and a circular railway in the capital to remove traffic jam and to solve other transport problems.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=82948

nayeem007

April 5th, 2009, 08:04 PM

the way things move in Bangladesh... I don't expect the project to be completed by next 10-15years

amar11372

April 5th, 2009, 08:46 PM

the way things move in Bangladesh... I don't expect the project to be completed by next 10-15years

I am bit more optimistic on this.

amar11372

April 5th, 2009, 08:49 PM

Tk 10,000 cr subway project may start this year

Sun, Apr 5th, 2009 9:42 pm BdST

Dhaka, Apr 5 (bdnews24.com)—Construction of the proposed Tk 10,000 crore Dhaka subway project, with 60 percent financing from Japan, may begin this year, said an official on Sunday.

The 52-km underground subway across the capital city, estimated to cost between Tk 10,000-12,000 crore, will have six lines and 50 stations, aimed at solving the city's traffic gridlock, according to the project proposal.

In line with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation's condition, the lowest bidder Contech Limited has partnered with Japanese firm Itochu Corp.

Managing director of Contech Masud Reza said they were hoping to receive a letter of intent and begin work within six months.

Reza had earlier met with communication minister Syed Abul Hossain and presented the proposal in this regard. Itochu Corp. general manager Taru Hasabiashi also attended the meeting.

Around 80 percent population of the city will have at least one station within one kilometre.

The subway is expected to serve some 10-40 lakh (1 million to 4 million) commuters daily.

The Sena Kalyan Sanstha (army welfare organisation) will provide technical assistance in implementing the project, which will be constructed by a "cut and cover method", meaning without disturbing surface traffic on any major route.

The communication ministry first floated an international tender for the ambitious underground rail project in 2002. Contech won the bid in 2003.

bdnews24.com/mk/khk/rah/2142h.
WARNING: Any unauthorised use or reproduction of bdnews24.com content for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited and constitutes copyright infringement liable to legal action.

http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?cid=4&id=80783&hb=3

TIslam

April 5th, 2009, 08:54 PM

^^
I predict that even if and/or when the metro rail is completed, it will not solve the traffic congestion on the surface streets of Dhaka. It will however, make a lot of peoples lives easier by way of lowering transportation costs and inconveniences associated with daily commute.

nayeem007

April 5th, 2009, 10:05 PM

I am bit more optimistic on this.

I wish I could say the same.. I would be really happy if we get the subway by 5years. But based on past experience I doubt it, nuclear program started in 1960s and the govt is still planning on it after 50 years. Subway has been discussed and planned since 90s, almost 20 years and no progress so far!

jjsheed

July 23rd, 2009, 12:17 AM

Govt means metro rail business
Strong committee to oversee Tk 21,390cr project
Rejaul Karim Byron

The government will form a 17-member high-powered committee to oversee a Tk 21,390 crore underground metro rail project in the capital.

The committee would mainly determine the major terms and conditions including the timeframe for the project, monetary allocation and user's charges and fees.

The government has already estimated an expenditure of $3.10 billion (Tk 21,390 crore) for the project.

Ministry sources said a target of five to seven years is likely to be set for the completion of the project.

A meeting of cabinet committee on economic affairs with the finance minister in the chair today will approve the communications ministry's proposal for the committee formation.

The communications ministry also sought approval of the cabinet committee to float tenders for the metro rail subway under a package programme for both feasibility study and investment initiatives.

Headed by communications secretary the proposed high-powered committee will include secretaries of finance division, economic relations division, internal resource division, member of physical infrastructure division, director general (DG) of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, executive member of the Board of Investment (BoE), chairman of Rajuk and DG of Bangladesh Railway.

The committee will decide on various service charge, toll, fees, rates, concession period, tax, VAT, incentive and waiver, conditions of price escalation on goods or services, prices of movable and immovable properties and their uses and fixing the timetable of lease.

Besides, the committee will also determine the transport charge, profit on investment, technology transfer, employment and training for Bangladeshi citizens and fixing timetable for implementation of the project.

The implementation of such a big project needs to follow the project development stages of Bangladesh Private Sector Infrastructure Guideline (BPSIG) 2004. The communications ministry requested the cabinet committee to relieve it of those procedures to save time.

Earlier the review proposal of the project was estimated to be about Tk 10 crore. Later the planning commission at a meeting in May last revised it up to Tk 15.44 crore.

The communications ministry has identified five projects for implementation under the public-private partnership (PPP). The metro rail project is one of them.

The ministry sources said Tk 2,500 crore has been put aside in the current fiscal year's budget for implementing the PPP projects. The review expenditure would be met from the amount.

Implementation of the project is being contemplated on the basis of Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT).

The communications ministry officials said four other mega projects include Dhaka-Chittagong Excess Control Highway, Dhaka Mega City Sky rail, Dhaka Mega City Elevated Expressway and construction of Dhaka-Narayanganj-Gazipur-Dhaka Elevated Expressway.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=98167

nayeem007

July 23rd, 2009, 02:26 AM

TIslam

July 23rd, 2009, 03:23 AM

It has been 4 months since Amar's post in April and all the govt has done in this period is to decide that they need to form a "strong committee" :ohno:.... I don't want to sound pessimistic but I don't see the metro/subway happening in atleast next 10-15 years..

I agree. The basic problems with most things in Bangladesh, in my opinion are two:
1) Tendency to reinvent the wheel
2) Haggling over the kickback amounts

#1 is so unnecessary and wasteful. They do not to create and recreate committees to make feasibility studies, committees to search for funds, committees to come up with designs, and so on. This is what I meant by reinventing the wheel. All they need to do is research a handful of metros that have been built within the last 5~10 years and decide which was the best in terms of cost and functionality and then request most of the planning and construction information from that country/city. I am sure most will gladly furnish. Then simply create cookie cutter project plan from that information.

#2 is the most problematic, because this is were it gets bogged down for which we keep seeing tenders and re-tenders. The government stakeholders continue with this exercise until they think they were able to extort the maximum. I have no solution for this.

nayeem007

July 23rd, 2009, 03:44 AM

I think that giving the subway project to a private firm (Build-Own-Operate) is the best decision, instead of government taking loans from world bank/ADB to implement it. I believe Delhi's Metro is also built with the same concept.

The above will remove a huge roadblock in funding a billion dollar project, private sector will also be more efficient and can also maintain the facilities better in the long run.Moreover, the governement does not need to do the feasibility studies and other time consuming stuff either..

But the only worry in this is, some government employees may offer the project to a new and inexperienced company for personal gains.

amar11372

July 23rd, 2009, 07:26 AM

nayeem007

July 23rd, 2009, 07:51 PM

^^ There is not a single metro system in this planet that's makes profit except Hong Kong (well not really since they make most of their profit from Real Estate than metro). Delhi's metro was built using loan from Japan. Why of earth would the private sector invest in Metro?, there is no profit to be made.

^^ that's not completely correct. Here are some excerpts on metros designed on the model I proposed:

Mumbai

A build-own-operate-transfer contract for Phase I of Mumbai's metro system was awarded to Reliance Energy...

http://www.international.gc.ca/commerce_missions/india-inde/sector-sectorielle/transport.aspx?lang=eng

Private metro contract awarded to IL&FS, DLF in Haryana
Gurgaon , Jul 17 In a first of its kind project, Haryana government has handed over the Letter of Award to the consortium of IL&FS and DLF Metro for construction of a metro system in Gurgaon
http://www.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/626082/Haryana/1/20/1

Looking at the development of the NYC subway, private corporations got the permission from the New York City government to construct and then run the subway lines at the beginning; however, because of public demand to take back these private subway lines, the subway system was unified in 1940.
http://www.geocities.com/subchen/writings/ehistory.html

Well infact Dhaka Metro was planned to be in "Build-Own-Operate" structure only couple of years back:

The communications adviser, MA Matin, at a meeting on Sunday decided to award the contract for building the underground railway system to the most competitive bidder on ‘build own operate’ basis.
http://www.newagebd.com/2007/nov/05/met.html

nayeem007

July 23rd, 2009, 08:00 PM

Anyways latest news on Dhaka Metro:

Metro rail project needs further scrutiny

The cabinet committee on economic affairs today sent back the proposal on underground metro rail project and offshore oil and gas exploration bids for further scrutiny.

Earlier a 17-member high-powered committee was formed to oversee the Tk 21,390 crore metro rail project for the capital.

The committee was tasked with determining the major terms and conditions and a timeframe for the project, monetary allocation and user's charges and fees.

At today's meeting presided by Finance Minister AMA Muhith, the energy ministry placed the proposal of offshore oil and gas exploration bids by two international oil companies in three blocks of the Bay of Bengal.

It placed its recommendations for awarding shallow water block SS-08-05 to Irish company Tullow Bangladesh and deep sea blocks DS-08-10 and 11 to US company Conoco Phillips South Asia New Ventures Ltd.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=18244

King Nothing

July 23rd, 2009, 09:00 PM

[B]
The communications ministry officials said four other mega projects include Dhaka-Chittagong Excess Control Highway, Dhaka Mega City Sky rail, Dhaka Mega City Elevated Expressway and construction of Dhaka-Narayanganj-Gazipur-Dhaka Elevated Expressway.

Oh man how ambitous. I'll take my clothes off and dance wildly if all of these actually happen. :P

amar11372

July 23rd, 2009, 10:48 PM

^^ that's not completely correct. Here are some excerpts on metros designed on the model I proposed:

Well infact Dhaka Metro was planned to be in "Build-Own-Operate" structure only couple of years back:

All those Indian projects that are being built are hardly a model to follow as whether they will be profitable or have massive lose is still unknown. Also many of those privately run NYC subways companies went into bankruptcy. Out of the hundreds of metro operating in the world, there is a reason why 95% (or higher) are Govt owned.

nayeem007

July 23rd, 2009, 11:02 PM

All those Indian projects that are being built are hardly a model to follow as whether they will be profitable or have massive lose is still unknown. Also many of those privately run NYC subways companies went into bankruptcy. Out of the hundreds of metro operating in the world, there is a reason why 95% (or higher) are Govt owned.

India is probably a better example for Bangladesh than Japan or Singapore which have access to huge capital and can fund the projects without any high interest loans.

Also, if you look into the lifecycle of a subway or metro project, profitability dips towards the later part as efficiency of the trains decrease, government enforces lower priced tickets for public benefit (or quick votes) etc. In a "Build-own-operate" model, a private company initially makes the investment, then in next 15-20 years timeframe they recoup the investment with some profit and finally transfer the infrastructure to the government (many of the Metros around the world which are now government owned started that way).

nayeem007

July 23rd, 2009, 11:14 PM

Lack of implementation related information: Underground rail project, offshore bidding proposals sent back

UNB, Dhaka

The Cabinet Economic Affairs Committee on Thursday sent back two mega-investment proposals on underground metro-rail project and offshore gas-block bidding for further review and incorporation of new information into the project proposals. The government estimated an expenditure of $3.10 billion (Tk 21,390 crore) for the Dhaka metro project while two international oil companies have proposed to invest a total of $492.52 million in offshore hydrocarbon exploration.

US-based ConocoPhillips offered to invest $442.67 million and give a bank guarantee of the same amount, while Irish company Tullow committed an investment of $49.85 million and a bank guarantee of $33.9 million.

The meeting of the government's highest approving authority, presided over by Finance Minister AMA Muhith, found both the proposals incomplete in terms of implementation- related information.

"The committee members found the proposals wanting adequate data and information and also observed that they need further review. That's why the committee sent them back to their respective ministries," said a senior official while briefing reporters about the meeting's outcome.

"The two ministries were asked to do the review and other related jobs as early as possible," he added.

The Communications Ministry had placed the proposal with the Cabinet Committee seeking approval for inviting international tender for the subway project and also forming a major terms and conditions committee (MTCC) to deal with the project.

The subway project is designed to be implemented on build-own-operate (BOT) basis by the private sector, now that the government approved a new development strategy based on public-private partnership.

On the other hand, the Energy Ministry had placed two international oil companies' (IOCs) bids received one and a half years ago under 3rd-round international bidding for the much-debated hydrocarbon exploration in the country's deep sea and offshore areas. According to official sources, the US-based ConocoPhilips' proposals for 8 deep-sea gas blocks and Irish company Tullow's one proposal for a block will be considered in the Cabinet Economic Affairs Committee meeting.

In the bids invited in February 2008, the ConocoPhilip was selected for 8 blocks as a lone bidder. Similarly, Tullow was also selected as lone bidder for one gas block. There were no other competitors for the blocks.

As per government purchase rules, no single bid is considerable for any public purchase unless it is considered to be highly essential for a special situation.

To address a severe energy crisis that Bangladesh has been facing for last few years, the immediate-past caretaker government had invited the international bids for hydrocarbon exploration in the country's maritime territories.

At present, the country produces about 1,800 million cubic feet of gas per day (MMCFD) against a demand for 2,300 MMCFD.

Industrial and power sectors are the worst sufferers in the gas crisis. The country's power sector alone has to reduce production by about 700-MW electricity on account of gas crisis.

As per government's forecast, country's current gas reserves will run out by 2014-2015 at the present rate of consumption. At present, the proven gas reserves are 7.3 Trillion Cubic Feet.
http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2009/07/24/news0785.htm

nayeem007

July 23rd, 2009, 11:15 PM

^^ Looks like Bangladesh government is doing exactly what I proposed!:)

amar11372

July 24th, 2009, 09:13 AM

^^ Yes the Govt is going that route by just see when they float the tender how many companies actually offers to invest in the metro. The truth is that not a single metro is profitable, anywhere.

nayeem007

July 24th, 2009, 03:57 PM

^^ Yes the Govt is going that route by just see when they float the tender how many companies actually offers to invest in the metro. The truth is that not a single metro is profitable, anywhere.

Private or government, I don't care as long as the project construction gets started. I have been looking forward to the Dhaka subway project for decades...

If government can fund it without high interest loans then be it, but I just want some groundwork to get started. Traffic and population density is increasing day by day and it would be extremely difficult to implement such big project in near future by disrupting city life!

randomuser2349

September 13th, 2009, 12:07 AM

That's a good decision. Dhaka is the most densely populated city in the world. It would be chaotic if they didn't soon.

nayeem007

September 16th, 2009, 08:31 AM

That's a good decision. Dhaka is the most densely populated city in the world. It would be chaotic if they didn't soon.

I don't think the decision will be implemented.. the govt has been planning on it for 20 years.

dopekhor

September 17th, 2009, 07:56 AM

I don't think the decision will be implemented.. the govt has been planning on it for 20 years.
thats cuz the contractors havent lobbied for it yet or the level of ghush offered isnt up to their level of expectation!

amar11372

October 21st, 2009, 07:00 PM

http://edailystar.com/contents/2009/2009_10_21/content_zoom/2009_10_21_1_2_b.jpg

:banana::banana::banana:

amar11372

October 21st, 2009, 07:01 PM

Seems the metro will be very extensive.

amar11372

October 21st, 2009, 07:08 PM

Seems the metro will be very extensive.

mirzazeehan

October 21st, 2009, 07:11 PM

I like how the govt. is looking eager to start work "quickly" and is planning to start it within 6 months

mirzazeehan

October 21st, 2009, 07:26 PM

2.2 bln-dollar plan to tackle Bangladesh jams
(AFP) – 11 hours ago

DHAKA — Bangladeshi capital Dhaka will undergo a 2.2-billion-dollar scheme to tackle its chronic traffic congestion with a metro rail system and elevated highways, the government said Wednesday.

Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain said the project budget had been approved by finance officials but added the work would take at least four years.

"Experts have said these schemes would be the best way to get rid of congestion from the capital," he told AFP. "We hope major parts of the project will be finished by the end of our tenure (in 2013)."

Dhaka's population has boomed from just 200,000 in 1974 to at least 12 million today. Traffic is at a standstill for an average of 7.5 hours a day, according to a recent government study.

In 2008 nearly 20,000 new vehicles hit the streets of Dhaka, thanks to an economy that has grown at an average of six percent annually in the last seven years.

Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gyBOhAuTSUaeeC3Ls11domyKmq8w

nayeem007

October 21st, 2009, 09:40 PM

^^ I have a hard time understanding why the government keeps on making plans around second Dhaka-Chittagong express way or second Padma Bridge, when we haven't secured any funding for the first ones!

tanzirian

October 21st, 2009, 09:56 PM

Looking at the proposed metro map...I just wonder why..with so many people working in the Motijheel area...that there is no station closer than Kamalapur.

amar11372

October 21st, 2009, 11:14 PM

^^ I have a hard time understanding why the government keeps on making plans around second Dhaka-Chittagong express way or second Padma Bridge, when we haven't secured any funding for the first ones!

Nothing wrong with making future plans, I think it should be lauded.

nayeem007

October 22nd, 2009, 12:17 AM

Nothing wrong with making future plans, I think it should be lauded.

I beg to differ on this. It is a distraction and takes focus off other immediate needs.

What's the point in discussing magnetic train, second padma bridge and second super express highway with Chittagong, when we don't even have the first ones completed? The feasibility studies and meetings around this cost tax payer money.

TIslam

October 22nd, 2009, 12:17 AM

Nothing wrong with making future plans, I think it should be lauded.
Laud as much as you want. The Dhaka MRT, like multi-lane the Dhaka-Chittagong expressway will remain a distant dream for quite sometime to come.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to be proven wrong. :)

nayeem007

October 22nd, 2009, 12:20 AM

Laud as much as you want. The Dhaka MRT, like multi-lane the Dhaka-Chittagong expressway will remain a distant dream for quite sometime to come.

Do you mean the first multi lane Dhaka-Chittagong expressway or the second one? Apparently government discussion has already shifted to the second one since the first project is a done deal :lol:

amar11372

October 22nd, 2009, 12:29 AM

I beg to differ on this. It is a distraction and takes focus off other immediate needs.

What's the point in discussing magnetic train, second padma bridge and second super express highway with Chittagong, when we don't even have the first ones completed? The feasibility studies and meetings around this cost tax payer money.

There aren't only one or two professionals that plan development projects. There are Probably hundred of thousands Bureaucrats. Whats the problem if one of them (lower rank, preferably) starts making rudimentary future plans? This is hardly a distraction to the priority projects leaders.

amar11372

October 22nd, 2009, 12:32 AM

Laud as much as you want. The Dhaka MRT, like multi-lane the Dhaka-Chittagong expressway will remain a distant dream for quite sometime to come.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to be proven wrong. :)

emmm... You gotta start somewhere right? If the Govt makes plans now then maybe in a decade something happens. If the Govt doesn't take any initiative now and waits to make the initial plans in 10 years then in 20 years something will happen.

TIslam

October 22nd, 2009, 12:33 AM

There aren't only one or two professionals that plan development projects. There are Probably hundred of thousands Bureaucrats. Whats the problem if one of them (lower rank, preferably) starts making rudimentary future plans? This is hardly a distraction to the priority projects leaders.
Yes, nothing wrong but like Nayeem said, the government is wasting time and (peoples) MONEY, coming up with projects after projects that are either never implemented or takes decades to come to fruition. They badly need a reality check.

amar11372

October 22nd, 2009, 12:36 AM

Do you mean the first multi lane Dhaka-Chittagong expressway or the second one? Apparently government discussion has already shifted to the second one since the first project is a done deal :lol:

The tender for the 1st expressway was already floated and the construction work if slated to start this December. As I mentioned, its a future plan, nothing wrong with this.

amar11372

October 22nd, 2009, 12:40 AM

Yes, nothing wrong but like Nayeem said, the government is wasting time and (peoples) MONEY, coming up with projects after projects that are neither never implemented or takes decades to come to fruition. They bad need a reality check.

No one is suggesting that the PM/Ministers takes some of her/their valuable time off and make highly speculative plans. I am saying ordering some lower ranked bureaucrat to start outlining the next phase of infrastructure projects is a good thing.

Astronomy

October 22nd, 2009, 12:48 AM

TIslam

October 22nd, 2009, 12:48 AM

No one is suggesting that the PM/Ministers takes some of her/their valuable time off and make highly speculative plans. I am saying ordering some lower ranked bureaucrat to start outlining the next phase of infrastructure projects is a good thing.
The reality of it is that no bureaucrat, big or small, do anything hands on (themselves). For every such "dream" project they hire outside consultants which of course results in a lot of kickbacks. Perfect money making scheme for them "bureaucrats"!

nayeem007

October 22nd, 2009, 05:42 AM

While the government is discussing the multi billion dollar projects, I think we should also make sure that focus is not lost from the few small but important projects that were mentioned earlier this year:

1) Constructing overpasses at major railcrossings in Dhaka
2) Creating high rise car parking lots across the city
3) Streamlining rickshaw movement, banning it from major roads(ofcourse after deploying necessary alternate transportation like buses) and creating seperate lanes at other ones.
4) Enforcing government regulation that requires car parking facility for all multi storied complex. Many malls ignore that completely and thus private cars have to parked at outside streets
5) Adding more buses, double deckers and taxi cabs through private entrepreneurs
6) Constructing few more main roads strategically for east-west and north-south traffic movement.
7) Enforcing automated traffic rules by fixing all the traffic signals and publicizing through media regarding the need to follow them. BDR can be deployed initially for few months to make sure the average citizens get used to following automated signals.
8) Completing the Dhaka bypass project on time,as this will divert the traffic going between other cities (e.g Chittagong-Sylhet) from going through Dhaka.

^^ None of these require complex implementation or huge funding and should not take more than 1 year to implement, but can have significant impact in the life of average Dhaka dwellers(No 8 is a big project but that was nearing completion last time I checked, so government just needs to ensure it's completed on time).

jjsheed

October 22nd, 2009, 06:31 AM

nayeem007

October 29th, 2009, 03:44 AM

Now that we are done with Subway, highspeed magnetic train etc the government is planning for "Sky Rail" :lol:

Looks like BD government have billions of dollars lying idle in the treasury, since we will have 2 Padma Bridge, 1 deep sea port, 2 Nuclear power plant, 2 Chittagong-Dhaka highway and now Subway + sky rail in Dhaka.

Govt plans sky rail for Dhaka
PM unveils measures to contain traffic jam

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said her government plans to construct elevated and underground railways, flyovers, orbital waterways, and circular roads in and around the capital to ease traffic congestion and to solve transport problems.

Replying to lawmakers' queries in the parliament, the premier said the government took up a project to upgrade Zia International Airport, construction of a bridge linking the Aarong point at Tejgaon and the Gulshan Shooting Club point, and a coordinated development project in Hatirjheel area.

She said the government also took steps to keep the Buriganga river and its adjacent lands free from encroachment.

For reducing the problems caused by air pollution in the capital, the government took measures to gradually remove from roads automobiles aged over 20 years.

"The program for increasing the number of buses to carry large numbers of passengers is now at the final stage. Numbers of three wheelers and other small transports will gradually be reduced," she said.

The premier said the activities of mobile courts will continue, and bus bays and parking spots will be designated in the city.

About climate change, she reiterated the demand for formation of an international fund to overcome the fallout. The premier urged the people of the country to be aware of the possible effects of the climate change.

Speaking on the tourism sector, the prime minister said her government wants to open up entire Bangladesh for tourists, as all parts of the country are beautiful.

"We are examining whether a regional tourism network can be built comprising Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Bhutan," she said.

Replying to queries on persons with disabilities, the premier urged all to be sympathetic to them. She said her government is sincere to ensure their rights and to create suitable environment for them at workplaces.

She said steps could be taken, so financially poor persons with disabilities may ride on public transports for free.

The premier said her government took various measures for the welfare and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities.

"We have planned construction of training centres in each district for persons with disabilities. Besides, the government is also considering setting up specialised schools at district levels for disabled and autistic children," Hasina, also the leader of the parliament, said.

Replying to another query, the premier said her government will conduct a survey in the Sundarban area for exploration of gas, and if gas is found that will be supplied to Khulna area.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=111757

HereWeGo

October 29th, 2009, 04:16 AM

TIslam

October 29th, 2009, 04:45 AM

TIslam

October 29th, 2009, 04:49 AM

nayeem007

October 29th, 2009, 05:04 AM

Dude...do u get paid to sound pessimistic...or u just hate this govt?

govt does have 9.5 billion in forex reserve lying idle since no one seem to want to invest in bangladesh...

Even a very minor project in a private firm takes time to get implemented...the planning phase to the implimentation phase can sometimes range 3-4 years. I am saying this from my own experience in working as an intern in one of the leading telecom company in canada.

Government has speed up the process to start work on the Nuclear Power Plant. There is every positive indication provided by the govt to suggest work on Power plant and chittagong highway soon.

I have nothing specific against the current government, but we just need to be realistic. Infact I created a thread in the "Adda section" outlining Subway, Nuclear power plant to Deep sea port as major infrastructural need for Bangladesh.

But I don't see the point in talking about Skyrail when we don't even have subway work initiated, similarly why are we doing analysis on second Dhaka-Chittagong expressway when we haven't even completed feasibility of the first one? Same goes for second Padma Bridge.All these are costing tax payer money, the govt needs to prioratize and start implementing the high value projects first. If actual groundwork isn't started by 2nd year, you know the government won't initiate the project since the next government will end up taking the credit.

If Forex reserve is used for funding infrastructure then the government won't be going from donor to donor just to fund Padma Bridge. Already we are taking loans from World Bank, Japan, Islami Bank + issuing bond worth over 500 million dollars. Even that is not enough to fund the ~ 2 billion dollar project, so our PM requested China and Qatar to fund rest of it.

Astronomy

October 29th, 2009, 05:55 AM

I'm surprised Hasina hasn't yet promised to put a Bangladeshi on the Moon. Why stop with just subways and expressways and magnetic trains? You gotta dream big.

Marathaman

October 29th, 2009, 09:20 AM

While the need for an underground metro is critical for growth and livability over the next few years, BRT would be a good idea to implement ASAP, as it is fairly cheap and the results would come sooner, easing the suffering of the residents of Dhaka. When I visited Dhaka over the summer... holy Moses, 'traffic jams' is a gross understatement :nuts:

Hi. If I'm not mistaken, Dhaka is plagued by numerous narrow, criss-crossing streets with minimal width. It may not be possible to implement BRT system in such a scenario. They are trying the same in Delhi, but results have been mixed even on relatively wide thoroughfares. The best solution for Dhaka would be to go underground IMO. It will be expensive, and probably require some heavy loans from ADB and othe donors, but it will be far more effective in the medium term. Perhaps the Bangladesh government can tie up with Delhi Metro for consultancy work. DMRC has already done a feasibility report for Karachi I believe.

In Mumbai, they have been building flyovers for decades, but nothing has come off it. The number of new cars on the roads far exceed the carrying capacity of any new flyover. As a result the city is now completely packed with flyovers that pass through these narrow lanes. Its so pathetic that people can see into the 2nd floor windows when they drive on the flyovers.

The best solution for South Asian cities is to go all out for underground public transport. They are finally realizing this in Mumbai after decades of experiments with flyovers.

Manazir

October 29th, 2009, 10:16 PM

ooh so finally the idea of Sky RAIL came in their mind eh?? i wonder what they are thinking to say for 2mrw, maybe "Moon RAIL"?? :D

King Nothing

October 31st, 2009, 09:36 AM

D

govt does have 9.5 billion in forex reserve lying idle since no one seem to want to invest in bangladesh...

Too bad they're using it to buy weapons.

nayeem007

October 31st, 2009, 07:26 PM

Too bad they're using it to buy weapons.

Actually they are not doing that either, since the army earned more through UN missions (1.2 billion dollars) than the entire defense budget of the country.

Navy has failed to acquire a single submarine after a decade of trying to get fund for it. With so much resources at stake at Bay of Bengal it is a pity the government is ignoring this area.

Manazir

October 31st, 2009, 07:35 PM

Too bad they're using it to buy weapons.

actually, they are spending it for their "DADA"

sidkings

October 31st, 2009, 11:28 PM

This is absolutely ridiculous, one of the worlds largest cities at a complete stand still and only likely to get worse. Surely this is stifling development & mobility. There will shortly come a time when it will be quicker to walk, sending us back 20 years!! The country's govt has no sense of direction, no real leadership ability in fact I struggle to think of anything positive any of the successive govts have done.... other than line thier own pockets with "The Peoples" money... Underground, Overground.. whatever.. its simply not going to happen, mere statements to shut up critics... The sooner these ruling Ba$tards all die the better it will be for the country.. Im going to lead a "peasants reveloution"

mirzazeehan

October 31st, 2009, 11:35 PM

The sooner these ruling Ba$tards all die the better it will be for the country.. Im going to lead a "peasants reveloution"

You call yourself a king and you are going to lead a "peasant revolution"??:lol::lol:

HereWeGo

October 31st, 2009, 11:47 PM

^^ Where is the revolution bro...are u still in the planning stage...???:lol:

sidkings

November 1st, 2009, 01:42 PM

Dont be at all surprised when people start rioting up & down the country for lack of basic amenities, water, gas, electricity..FOOD.. Not only does this affect the poor. It will eventually hit the middle income... whichever way you look at it.. Dhaka has an influx of thousands of climate refugees, nowhere to live, nowhere to work, the govt does nothing for them and hence that promotes unsanitary living conditions & crime. This coupled with a dilapadated and inadequate infratrucutre, utilities, transport etc... that cannot support mass movement & basic living for the majority is a receipe for DISASTER.. the city is doomed!! Surely?? Anyone on this forum who thinks Dhaka will be a liveable city even in the next five years in mad.....

sidkings

November 1st, 2009, 01:47 PM

You call yourself a king and you are going to lead a "peasant revolution"??:lol::lol:

LOL... thats actually short for Kingston.. but never mind ha ha ha, You clever git... :-)

sidkings

November 1st, 2009, 05:41 PM

^^ Where is the revolution bro...are u still in the planning stage...???:lol:

Thats right bro... Its my master plan..WATCH THIS SPACE...:lol: I'll be leading from the front with a sickle... LOL

TIslam

November 1st, 2009, 07:03 PM

This is absolutely ridiculous, ....
There will shortly come a time when it will be quicker to walk, sending us back 20 years!!
That time is already here. Don't know about setting us back 20 years or not, but it is already quicker to walk from Dhanmondi to Purana Paltan (that area) during peak hours of (vehicular) traffic.

nayeem007

November 1st, 2009, 07:20 PM

its simply not going to happen, mere statements to shut up critics... The sooner these ruling Ba$tards all die the better it will be for the country.. Im going to lead a "peasants reveloution"

Man your post cracked me up because it reminded me of a cousin of mine. He was one of the top student leader of a communist party in Bangladesh, he always used to say "Sromojibi mahonoti manusher joy akdin hobei".. how the bourgeoisie class will be overtaken and justice will be served. Then one fine day he got DV lottery and now he is in US. He is the strongest believer in capitalism :lol:

Manazir

November 1st, 2009, 08:01 PM

LOL... thats actually short for Kingston.. but never mind ha ha ha, You clever git... :-)

which Kingston? Sean Kingston? or Jamaican Kingston? :D

sidkings

November 1st, 2009, 08:49 PM

which Kingston? Sean Kingston? or Jamaican Kingston? :D

LOL.. As in Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey.... :lol:

sidkings

November 1st, 2009, 09:08 PM

That time is already here. Don't know about setting us back 20 years or not, but it is already quicker to walk from Dhanmondi to Purana Paltan (that area) during peak hours of (vehicular) traffic.

That is really sad to hear.. :ohno: I mean where will it stop? The scenes of overcrowded trains, cars, ferries is shocking to say the least. At times I think the city planners spent no more than 5 minutes scribbling down what they thought would require the least amount of money & then spent the rest of the allocated bugdet on themselves... DISGUSTING..

sidkings

November 1st, 2009, 09:16 PM

Man your post cracked me up because it reminded me of a cousin of mine. He was one of the top student leader of a communist party in Bangladesh, he always used to say "Sromojibi mahonoti manusher joy akdin hobei".. how the bourgeoisie class will be overtaken and justice will be served. Then one fine day he got DV lottery and now he is in US. He is the strongest believer in capitalism :lol:

Your cuz sounds like a funny guy man.. LOL.. :lol: trust me there will come a time when things reach boiling point... The natural outlet will simply be to rebel against the authorities...

amar11372

November 2nd, 2009, 03:40 AM

Your cuz sounds like a funny guy man.. LOL.. :lol: trust me there will come a time when things reach boiling point... The natural outlet will simply be to rebel against the authorities...

U sound like Glenn Beck to me. http://www.skyscrapercity.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

King Nothing

November 2nd, 2009, 07:34 AM

Man your post cracked me up because it reminded me of a cousin of mine. He was one of the top student leader of a communist party in Bangladesh, he always used to say "Sromojibi mahonoti manusher joy akdin hobei".. how the bourgeoisie class will be overtaken and justice will be served. Then one fine day he got DV lottery and now he is in US. He is the strongest believer in capitalism :lol:

IMO Socialism/Commie-ism is chaglami while Capitalism is paglami.

King Nothing

November 2nd, 2009, 07:35 AM

Your cuz sounds like a funny guy man.. LOL.. :lol: trust me there will come a time when things reach boiling point... The natural outlet will simply be to rebel against the authorities...

The rebellion should be done the democratic way. Through votes.

mirzazeehan

November 2nd, 2009, 07:39 AM

trust me there will come a time when things reach boiling point... The natural outlet will simply be to rebel against the authorities...

And they say I am a dreamer....Towhid Bhai,tell him something!This time you will have me by your side:lol:

TIslam

November 2nd, 2009, 04:21 PM

And they say I am a dreamer....Towhid Bhai,tell him something!This time you will have me by your side:lol:
Dreaming is something positive, Mirza, and I'm all for it. On the other hand, folks like Lenin, Mao, Motia Chowdhury, et al. :weird: scare the heck outta me.

gohorns

November 6th, 2009, 06:49 AM

What a joke!

I was in Dhaka last week. It regularly took me 2 hours to drive from Dhanmondi to Gulshan during the day, and often in the evenings too. I've seen a fair number of third-world megacities, and Dhaka's transportation system has to be the worst. And it has gotten significantly worse in the last ten months, mostly due to many more people buying private cars.

If you seriously think that the government will be able to transform the mess that is Dhaka and turn it into some sparkling Asian tiger with a brand new underground railway and elevated expressways galore, you are being amazingly naive. The only thing Hasina is interested in is consolidating her power and making sure she never comes close to losing it again.

Unfortunately, you are so right. Since coming to power she has ignored the urgent needs of the country and its people. Instead, she is focused on executing people that killed her family, removing Khaleda from her residence (which would be fine after everything else had been dealt with), consolidating her power using scare tactics, placing her cronies in positions of power and dealing harshly with those that opposed her, securing life-long special security for her and her family (something the Kennedy family never received in the US despite two assassinations) and now changing the constitution. Maybe someone can enlighten me but what has she done for the good of the country since coming to power? I can't think of anything significant.

This time around she is doing worse than she did in her previous term. It is almost like she feels like she is running out of time to execute the people that killed her family hence there is so much more emphasis on that this time around. I apologize if I offend anyone but I am sick of hearing the term "bangabandhu" and I don't want to see it attached to anything in the country except maybe a memorial. If Hasina can give Dhaka and its people an effective transit system, either using underground rail or whatever, then she can call it "the bangabandhu" and I, along with millions of others,will cheer it on. Oh, and I am not a supporter of either party and really want to see both these women in jail, or at least, under house-arrest for the rest of their lives. Someone on another post said something about a revolution..well bring it on my friend...it is time.

I apologize for the rant but I am just so turned off by what is going on in Bangladesh that I have lost all will to ever live there again.

sidkings

November 7th, 2009, 10:24 PM

Gohorns my friend you are so right :okay: Something as crucial as a decent transport system, be it underground or overground to cope with one of the worlds largest city populations demands clear decion making, advanced & detailed planning with forsite and 110% commitment with the interests of the people first and foremost.

That evil woman and her cronies are using this country as a personal playground at the expense of millions. The country, its infrastructure, its economy and peoples development will remain stagnated and sluggish until "BOTH" camps are eradicated :bash:

mirzazeehan

November 7th, 2009, 11:39 PM

The country, its infrastructure, its economy and peoples development will remain stagnated and sluggish until "BOTH" camps are eradicated :bash:

The economy will remain "stagnated and sluggish"???Was that a joke,or have you not been reading any newspaper since 1989?

sidkings

November 8th, 2009, 02:05 AM

The economy will remain "stagnated and sluggish"???Was that a joke,or have you not been reading any newspaper since 1989?

Bro.. are you seriously telling me that having the choice between these two old hags as prime ministers is a good thing?? I am sure that any economist will tell you that Bangldesh's potential to achieve a much higher growth rate & development across all sectors is possible if there were only good governance & leadership.

Bottom line is that not only does the country have to contend with natural calamaties, high illiteracy, malnutrition etc.. its development is stifled by rampant corruption at the highest levels. The progress that has been made in my oppinion is modest as compared to what the country is capable of.

mirzazeehan

November 8th, 2009, 09:21 AM

its development is stifled by rampant corruption at the highest levels. The progress that has been made in my oppinion is modest as compared to what the country is capable of.

That is true,we could achieve a lot more than we did with good governance.
But economic growth of over 5 percent for almost the last two decades could in no way be termed "stagnated and sluggish".

tanzirian

November 8th, 2009, 09:20 PM

TIslam

November 9th, 2009, 05:20 AM

That is true,we could achieve a lot more than we did with good governance.
But economic growth of over 5 percent for almost the last two decades could in no way be termed "stagnated and sluggish".
That I must concede, chaos, corruption and mismanagement notwithstanding.

jjsheed

November 10th, 2009, 06:46 PM

Heed reasonable advice on mass transit for Dhaka

The chief representative of JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), at a recent seminar on urban transport development for Dhaka in particular, is reported to have advised Bangladesh against embarking on a metro rail project without first assessing its feasibility, or putting in place the necessary legal and organizational framework. He cited the failure of such a mass transit system in countries like Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. The metro rail reportedly failed to draw enough passengers there. If that is the experience of countries known to be economically better off than their counterparts in this country, the government had better heed the advice lest it ends up simply losing money while making much ado about solving the horrific traffic jams in the capital.

One of the unpalatable truths about 'development' in Bangladesh is that wheeler-dealers are often bent on peddling projects that provide them the opportunity to make money, regardless of whether or not they are affordable and sustainable and yield the results envisioned. The opposite is also true, that is, projects that are predominantly pro-people but provide little or no 'percentage', are mostly ignored. While one cannot wish away this money-making culture, there surely must be a way to tread the middle path and get on with reasonable development initiatives. The JICA chief was quoted as saying that it is most important to introduce services capable of carrying the maximum numbers smoothly and swiftly enough and to ensure that such services are accessible to people in the new settlement areas.

A Dhaka Mass Transit Authority (DMTA) is expected to be set up soon, once the relevant Act is passed in parliament. This would enable DMTA to institute the required authorities and subsidiary bodies and get on with the proposed rail-based and bus-based mass rapid transport systems. Meanwhile the government should come down to earth and attend to the problem of oppressive gridlocks immediately. Day in and day out this unbearable situation is costing the nation very dear, in terms of the time and energy wasted, the physical and psychological stress and the long-term health and economic implications. Suggestions have been coming in from diverse quarters about what is immediately do-able to reduce the jams at the minimum possible time and cost, and some of them are worth considering, specially a circular shuttle train service, parallel to the existing tracks.
A reasonably free flow of traffic could be guaranteed if the Prime Minister's promised overbridges at six more level crossings were commissioned right away. The railway authorities have enough land on either side of the existing tracks and this could be put to perfect use if special rail lines were laid here for the suggested circular shuttle service from Kamalapur up to Tongi/Joydevpur. With only five shuttle trains running in a circular route on the two sides of the present district lines -- each train having five bogies each with 40 sitting and 20 standing capacity -- and touching every stop for two or three minutes to allow commuters to get off and on, a great deal of load could be effectively taken off the roads. Hundreds of thousands of Dhaka dwellers would be grateful to the government if this very practical, affordable, sustainable and safe alternative were considered on a priority basis. This can certainly coexist with the government's more ambitious and expensive mass transit systems that some quarters are currently trying to push through.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=83842

gohorns

November 10th, 2009, 08:16 PM

Hello Gohorns, nice to see you back. I have been in your general neighborhood for the last few weeks. It occurred to me a little while back that Tmac might still live in the DC area, but I never got round to contacting him being busy with my own matters.

Really? I wish I knew. I moved a couple of months back and now I am really close to the Dulles airport. Are you still in the area? If so, please give me a call at 717-475-1358 if you want to grab lunch/dinner, etc. If not well...maybe next time? :cheers:

By the way, what places did you visit while you were here?

tanzirian

November 11th, 2009, 06:20 AM

Really? I wish I knew. I moved a couple of months back and now I am really close to the Dulles airport. Are you still in the area? If so, please give me a call at 717-475-1358 if you want to grab lunch/dinner, etc. If not well...maybe next time? :cheers:

By the way, what places did you visit while you were here?

Hey Gohorns, didn't see your reply sooner. I'll call tomorrow if you like...I'm free on the weekend if you would like to meet up for lunch or dinner. I've been to and through Dulles a lot lately - was just there this morning getting back from LA. Also check your PM.

I'm renting a room in Rockville, MD while I'm here. I've gone into DC a decent number times in the past few weeks both for work and sightseeing - the Mall, Chinatown, Dupont Circle areas etc. Plus have been to Great Falls Park not far from Rockville.

TIslam

November 11th, 2009, 08:09 PM

VIEW POINT

DST proved useless: Revert to normal time

Mohammad Ataul Hoque

Despite popular demand to revert to original timing in October, and as earlier promised by the Government while imposing DST (daylight saving time), the Energy Adviser has said the timing will not change. This is a total surprise to us as he has no authority to speak on the public utility directly because he is responsible only to the Minister as his subordinate not accountable to the public.
It is a pity the Government hired some bureaucrats to assist the inexperienced new Ministers on certain national issues. These bureaucrats are behaving in the similar fashion now which they used to behave while in service. They used to take decisions which suited their personal interest only ignoring national or public interest. There was always a gap between those bureaucrats and the public who used to consider themselves as the ruler and the public as subjects.
One of the advisers was at the helms of the energy sector as energy secretary for a long time who completely failed to take necessary long-term plans to tackle the growing demand for energy in the country while in service. Due to the ineptitude and inefficiency of the bureaucrats the people are suffering much and country is in shambles today so far as energy sector is concerned.

Imaginary power saving
How the Government could choose those failed ineffective persons as advisers who are now experimenting with short-term measures at the cost of sufferings of the countrymen is the question of the day.
They are citing the examples of Western countries on DST ignoring the fact that there are a host of knowledgeable persons in this country who are quite familiar with such practices in other countries and which are neither applicable nor relevant to this country.
DST is practised in a few Western countries for completely different purposes and reasons. The advisers appear to be dealing with some fictitious digits of imaginary savings in electricity consumption the basis of calculation of which is not known. The plight of the general public has further worsened with the readjustment of office timings, a weird decision must have been also masterminded by those failed ex-bureaucrats.

Intolerable traffic jam
This step was like adding salt to the wounds. Those wild decisions did not bring any kind of respite to the city dwellers either in respect of savings in electricity or lessening of traffic jam.
The same load shedding is persisting and same intolerable traffic jam still persists further aggravating in both the sectors. Therefore, without beating about the bush it is time to identify the root causes and adopt short-term, medium-term and long-term measures to improve the situations. In this respect a high-powered committee comprising of experts and professionals from the civil society as well as from the administration (not bureaucrats) be formed immediately who could work on a war footing to bring about a solution to the problems by taking practical decisions.

Real estate
The real estate builders should be asked to generate their own electricity and use gas cylinders for domestic use instead of seeking new electricity and gas connections for their newly built housing complexes and apartments. Domestic use of electricity and gas through pipe line is going up leaps and bounds with coming up of multi storied housing complexes indiscriminately. Most of the countries including in Middle East gas cylinders are used for domestic use. New energy connections should be considered only for industrial purposes to attract and facilitate new and foreign investments.
The Chairman of BRTA disclosed that, each day over hundred vehicles of different nature are coming on the city roads with new registrations besides rickshaws and other slow moving passenger/goods carriers which are pouring into the cities every day. Cannot the Government restrict new registration of any kind of motorized vehicles at least for the time being.
Indiscriminate parking, non availability of parking space, freeing of footpath to facilitate walking, rehabilitation of the hawkers at a fixed allotted area, establishment of a well organized modern city bus operating system (by a single operator) etcetera could be identified to address to minimize traffic congestion on short and medium term basis besides building and expansion of the city roads, shifting of Govt. offices, military establishments and the secretariat to the outskirts of the city as long term measures

http://www.weeklyholiday.net/edit.html#03