Metro rail to run up to Motijheel in Nov: Quader
The Dhaka Elevated Expressway from the airport to Tejgaon will be completed in June
Metro rail, which is already operational on the Uttara-Agargaon section, will run up to Motijheel in November, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said on Thursday.
The country's first metro rail service came into being in December last year, and the upcoming extension to Motijheel will bring a total distance of 20.10km under the service.
According to the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited, the project implementing agency, 93.26% progress has been made in the work of the Agargaon-Motijheel section.
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The work on the Dhaka Elevated Expressway from the airport to Tejgaon will be completed by June, Obaidul Quader yesterday said after the Roads and Highways Department signed an agreement with a consulting firm for the construction of a balanced steel arch bridge over the River Brahmaputra at Kewatkhali in Mymensingh.
Obaidul Quader said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate 100 more bridges constructed by the department in June.
He further said 100 electric double-deckers will be added to the fleet of the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation in November. Of the buses, 80 are for Dhaka city, and the remaining 20 are for Chattogram city.
The minister said it will be possible to pay another instalment of the loan for the Padma Bridge project next June.
Once constructed, the bridge will directly connect the capital city of Dhaka with important land ports in Netrokona, Sherpur, Mymensingh, and Jamalpur, along with the Mymensingh district headquarters, according to the project document.
The minister said it was a long-standing demand from the people of the Mymensingh region.
In a joint venture with Yongma Engineering Co Ltd of Republic of Korea and in association with Desh Upodesh Ltd and Kranti Associates Limited of Bangladesh, LEA Associates South Asia Pvt Ltd of India got the consultancy work for the construction of the bridge.
The firms will review the design prepared by the project's design consultant and supervise the implementation of the work.
The minister said under the Tk3,263.63 crore project, a 1,100-metre bridge will be constructed on the Brahmaputra River, including a 320-metre steel-arch bridge.
