ECNEC clears 3 metro projects; costs soar

The government on Wednesday approved a new metro rail line from Gabtali to Dasherkandi while approving major cost increases for two ongoing metro projects, pushing their combined price tag to more than double the original estimate.
The approvals came at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), which cleared 12 development projects with an estimated combined cost of Tk1,68,780 crore.
The new MRT Line-5 Southern Route will cover 17.20 kilometres, including 13.10 kilometres underground, linking Gabtali with Dasherkandi at a cost of Tk45,503.76 crore. 
The government will provide Tk15,197.66 crore, while the remainder will come through loans from the Asian Development Bank and South Korea’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund.
At the same meeting, the cost of the two ongoing projects – MRT Line-1 and MRT Line-5 Northern Route – was revised sharply upwards. 
Their combined cost has risen from Tk93,799.97 crore, approved in 2019, to Tk2,04,243.25 crore. 
The revised amount is Tk9,741.84 crore below the figure proposed by Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) after scrutiny by the Planning Commission.
The cost of MRT Line-1, which will connect the airport with Kamalapur and include an elevated branch from Natun Bazar to Purbachal, has more than doubled to Tk1,14,394.89 crore.
The revision has been attributed partly to delays in design and tender preparation during the Covid pandemic and the complexities of implementing Bangladesh’s first underground metro rail.

Detailed design changes also included larger stations, relocated entrances, exits and ventilation shafts, a three-storey Rajarbagh station and about 20 kilometres of detour roads to manage traffic during construction.
The cost of MRT Line-5 Northern Route, linking Hemayetpur with Bhatara, has also more than doubled to Tk89,848.36 crore. Its completion deadline has been pushed back from 2028 to December 2032.
The Hemayetpur-Amin Bazar section will be elevated, while the Amin Bazar-Bhatara section will run underground through densely populated areas.
Planning State Minister Md Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki said the sharp rise in metro project costs was partly due to gaps between preliminary feasibility estimates and detailed designs.
He cited deeper underground stations, additional structures, changes in project scope, financing conditions, exchange-rate movements, inflation and taxes as factors behind the higher costs.
“Project preparation has to be redesigned, and we have to close the gaps that create opportunities for wastage and corruption,” Saki said.
He said the government was reviewing the project preparation process and would strengthen scrutiny of feasibility studies, detailed designs and cost estimates before approving major projects.
Bangladesh also needs to build its own institutional and technical capacity in metro rail construction and ensure technology transfer to reduce dependence on foreign expertise, he said.
“More metro lines are needed in Dhaka, and more metro lines have to be built around Dhaka and further expand in other big cities of the country,” Saki said.
Of the 12 projects approved by ECNEC, five are under the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry, two each under the Defence and Railways ministries, and one each under the ministries of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives, Labour and Employment, and Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.
The government will finance Tk48,256.30 crore of the projects, while Tk1,20,466.39 crore will come from project loans and Tk57.71 crore from organisations’ own funds.
Among the other major approvals, Tk3,822.51 crore was allocated for electric traction on the Narayanganj-Dhaka-Joydebpur railway section, while Tk4,667.42 crore was approved as additional funding for the Bogura-Sirajganj dual-gauge railway project.

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