Metro rail contract awarded without competition, transparency, alleges IPD

An organisation of urban planners has claimed that the contracts of metro rail projects are being awarded without competition, transparency and accountability which will increase the economic debt burden for Bangladesh. 
They also said that  Dhaka is increasingly being pushed into a costly metro rail-centric transport model, with more than Tk2.5 lakh crore being committed to new metro projects while cheaper alternatives such as buses, BRT and commuter trains remain neglected, experts and planners have warned.
They also questioned the sharp variation in metro rail construction costs and called for open international competition, independent cost verification and greater transparency before approving or revising such mega projects.
The concerns were raised at an online discussion titled “Rising Metro Rail Costs and Equity in Planning”, organised by the Institute for Planning and Development (IPD) on Friday. IPD Executive Director Prof Adil Mohammed Khan said that excessive enthusiasm for metro rail had created a “metro rail trap,” restricting attention and investment in other modes of transport. “The government is highly interested in metro rail mega projects, but appears reluctant to ensure open competition to reduce costs,” he said.
According to the IPD, MRT Line-5 (Southern Route), financed by the Asian Development Bank and South Korea, has an estimated cost of Tk2,645 crore per kilometre. The cost rises to Tk3,661 crore per kilometre for MRT Line-1 and Tk4,492 crore for MRT Line-5 (Northern Route), both financed by JICA.
The IPD said that the substantial difference in per-kilometre costs raises questions about procurement practices and the absence of adequate competition.
Prof Adil said that the original Strategic Transport Plan (STP), prepared in 2005, proposed three metro lines covering about 60 kilometres while prioritising buses, BRT and pedestrian facilities.
But the revised plan expanded the metro network to six lines covering more than 140 kilometres, while investment in bus services and other alternatives remained inadequate, he said.
He also questioned the approval of MRT Line-1 and MRT Line-5 (Northern Route) without adequate public discussion and assessment of alternative transport options.
“Loan repayments and subsidies will ultimately have to be borne by the people,” Prof Adil said.
Speakers at the discussion said that the government was investing huge sums in underground metro rail along corridors where existing railway infrastructure could potentially provide a cheaper alternative.
The Kamalapur-Dhaka Airport-Joydebpur railway corridor, they said, has significant potential for a faster commuter train service but has not been developed accordingly. At the same time, more than Tk1 lakh crore is being spent on an underground metro rail along a broadly parallel corridor.