Background with Problem Statement Information and The main objectives of the Project (DMRTDP Line-1):
Dhaka, the capital of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, is economic and political center of the country with output equivalent to 36 percent of the country’s entire GDP. The “Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2010-2021 (Vision 21), 2012”, the Government of Bangladesh has set a goal to become a middle-income country by year 2021. Accordingly, the target of total GDP growth rate was set to 8 percent in 2015 and gradually it increased to 10 percent by 2021. In addition, the government aims to increase the industrial sector GDP up to 37 percent in 2021.
Due to its economic development, the population of Dhaka has grown rapidly from 6.6 million in 1990 to 20.283 million in 2018. Compared with other global major cities, Dhaka’s population density is extraordinarily high with 49803 people per km2.
With increasing number of people, the number of registered vehicles has been surged from 20,600 in 2001 to 195,400 in 2013, leading to significant traffic congestion coupled with the limited road density in Dhaka with approximately 6.12 km/km2. This has inflicted additional cost for maintenance of vehicles, opportunity cost during lost travel time and other economic loss from these traffic congestions, which are estimated to reach 3.8 billion US Dollars per year.
Traffic congestion has also caused health risks due to air pollution, for instance, particulate matter (PM)25 concentration in Dhaka was 158 µg/m3 in 2014, which is higher than World Health Organization’s standard (20 µg/m3-70 µg/m3).
To counter increasing problems of urban transportation and its environment, the Seventh Five Year Plan (SFYP) (FY2016-FY2020) states that the top priority is to lower urban road network congestion through appropriate investment by identifying the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) lines with revision of the Strategic Transport Plan (STP). The SFYP further states the optimum infrastructural development strategies would involve early implementation of all the STP recommended public transport-oriented projects.
In accordance with the SFYP, the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) approved the Revised Strategic Transport Plan (RSTP) on 29 August 2016 (approved by the Cabinet), which draws up public transportation network with development of five MRT lines to mitigate traffic congestion of Dhaka. MRT line 1 is concluded as one of the top priority projects among the five lines as it is expected higher demand in terms of daily ridership per day of 1,812,000 in 2035.
Major modes of transport in Greater Dhaka Area are motorcycles, private car, microbuses, trucks, minibuses, taxis, rickshaw and human hauler. By introducing MRT system the number of different modes of transports will be greatly reduced.
At present, travel time from Airport to Kamalapur and its adjoining areas is about 2 hours by the above-mentioned modes of transport. On the other hand, MRT Line 1 will take 24 minutes from Airport to Kamalapur and 36 minutes from Kamalapur to Purbachal respectively. Therefore, a huge amount of savings will be generated with respect to time, energy and environment. As a consequence of it our economy will boost up.
Deterioration of the air quality is one of the major environmental issues in Dhaka. Major pollutants are NOx, SO2, PM, PM10, PM2.5 CO, O3 and Lead. One of the major origins of air pollutions are vehicles. Construction of MRT will contribute to alleviate traffic congestion and improve air quality in the Dhaka City.
Train operation generates modal shift from vehicle traffic to mass transit system. Train operation is remarkably energy saving measures comparing vehicle traffic, the project will contribute to reduce the emission of greenhouse gas. The implementation of the project will decrease 63,421 ton of CO2 emission per year.
(1) Timing of the Project
In RSTP the proposed length of MRT Line-1 is 52 km. In the proposed length of MRT Line-1 Airport to Gazipur Route was included. But at present, 20.759 km BRT-3 construction work from Airport to Gazipur route is going on. In this consequence, the feasibility study report does not recommend for construction of MRT Line-1 in this route for 1st phase. But in 2nd phase, it was recommended for construction of Underground MRT after completion of BRT-3 construction work.
The RSTP recommends developing the MRT line-1 by 2025. However, according to the feasibility study report it is targeted to complete the project by December 2026. Given above conditions mentioned in the table of urban environment of Dhaka, it is essential for the city to introduce and expand the MRT network continuously. Feasibility study of the MRT Line 1 estimates ample transportation demands by 2028 with daily ridership of over 1.17 million passengers per day. Therefore, with an aim to improve urban Transport and environment, the GoB consider it is essential to construct the MRT Line 1 (both routes).
(2) Technology of the Project
Technical compatibility among MRT lines is essential to ensure the smooth MRT operation such as signaling, command and operation system. Also, open-cut excavation for the underground station construction is expected to cause major traffic congestion during the construction stage of the project. Especially in the congested areas, advanced technology will be applied to mitigate the negative effect of excavation work to the traffic during the construction.
Rationale: The urban transportation in Dhaka Metropolitan Area (DMA) currently heavily relies on road using different travel modes such as automobile, bus, and rickshaws. These lead to serious traffic congestion in addition to aggravation of health condition of the people in Dhaka city due to air pollution. Given that DMA will experience further growth of economy and increase in the number of automobiles and population, urban public transport system will continue to be pressing issues for the DMA. In order to improve urban transportation system and bring efficiency in transportation system, these MRT projects will contribute significantly to improve urban transportation system and environment of Dhaka and its adjoining areas.
If the MRT (MRT Line-1, MRT Line-2, MRT Line-4, MRT Line-5 (Northern Route), MRT Line-5 (Southern Route), MRT Line-6 Almost Completed. (Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Hub and Station Plaza at Uttra Center Station, Aftabnagar and Gulshan and Gabtoli.) Six projects are completed, then these projects together with other transportation improvement projects will enhance the reliability, safety, carrying capacity and efficiency of public transport in Dhaka and its adjoining areas.
Poverty Situation: Bangladesh has made important gains in the fight against poverty. The construction of MRT Lines following the Time Bound Action Plan 2030 of DMTCL in Dhaka City and its adjoining areas have a high potential for economic growth, poverty reduction and comfortable life for Dhaka city dwellers.
The main objectives of the Project (DMRTDP Line-1):
To reduce traffic congestion in Dhaka city;
To improve the environment in Dhaka City;
To provide modern and safe mass rapid transit systems for the city Dwellers;
To reduce travel time;
To contribute in increasing the GDP growth rate
Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project (Line-1)
Route Length
Airport Route: 16.215 kilometers (Underground)
Purbachal Route: 11.369 kilometers (Elevated)
Transition Length : 3.657 kilometers (Underground)
Total Length : 31.241 kilometers
Total Investment Cost
Total: Tk. 5256143.00 Lac
GOB: Tk. 1311111.00 Lac
PA: Tk. 3945032.00 Lac
Project Description
1. Objectives: The objectives of the project are to alleviate traffic congestion and reduce environmental pollution in Dhaka city by constructing mass rapid transit system, thereby contributing to the economic and social development of Greater Dhaka and its adjoining regions and improving the urban environment.
2. Outcomes: The outcome of the project will be MRT system which will improve transportation system of Dhaka city. The MRT system will have direct effect on:
* Alleviation of traffic congestion,
* Increase in mobility and accessibility of people,
* Reduction of pollutions.
The project will have significant impact on travel time savings.
3. Outputs: MRT Line-1 consists of two routes, namely Airport Route and Purbachal Route. Airport Route connects Kamalapur in central Dhaka with the Dhaka International Airport. The Purbachal route branches off from the Airport Route at Notun Bazar Station to the Purbachal area. The alignment of the Airport Route is Airport- Airport Terminal 3- Khilkhet- Jamuna Future Park- Notun Bazar- Uttar Badda-Badda-Hatirjheel-Rampura-Malibagh-Rajarbagh-Kamalapur. The length of this route is 16.215 kilometers. This will be the first underground Metrorail or Subway of Bangladesh. This route will have 12 underground stations. The alignment for Purbachal Route is Notun Bazar-Jamuna Future Park-Bashundhara-Police Officers Housing Society-Mastul-Purbachol West-Purbachol Center- Purbachol Sector 7-Purbachal Depot. The total length of the Purbachal route is 11.369 Kilometers. The transition length between the elevated section and the underground section is 3.657 km. 7 out of 9 stations on this route will be elevated. The Notun Bazar and Jamuna Future Park stations will be constructed underground as a part of Airport Route. There will be an interchange at Notun Bazar station. Passengers will be able to transfer from the Airport Route to Purbachal Route and vice-versa.
After construction of MRT Line-1 the following specific outputs will be achieved:
•Energy saving transport system (specially fuel efficiency)
•A train with eight air-conditioned coaches will operate every 2 minutes 30 seconds from Airport to Kamalapur and Bashundhara to Purbachal.
•A total 13 such trains would carry 44,585 passengers every hour to both directions
•The metro rail will have stations at 19 point of the city
4. Gender, women, children, person with disability/excluded groups’ needs:
This project is not directly related to improvement of women or children. Improved urban transport will contribute to economic growth and social life which will increase benefit to women and children as a part of the population. Seats will be earmarked for the children, women, old aged people and persons with disabilities in every metro coach.
5. Employments: During design and construction phase of MRT Line-1 employment of about 200 people will be generated under DMTCL. During operation phase employment of about 1500 people will be generated under DMTCL. More over during design and construction phase huge manpower will be employed by consultant and contractors as well.
6. Poverty situation: This project is not directly related to poverty alleviation. But will improve urban transport system and thus will contribute to economic growth, which will help in poverty alleviation.
7. Organizational arrangement/setup: This project will be implemented under the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) set-up as proposed in Annexure-II. After completion of the project the operation and maintenance would be done by O & M set-up of DMTCL.
8. Institutional productivity: This project will introduce modern urban transport system in Dhaka City and it’s adjoin areas.
9. Populations: Almost 20.283 million people of Dhaka city will get the MRT facilities.
10. Specific linkage with Perspective Plan/Five Years Plan/SDGs /Ministry/ Sector Priority:
Perspective Plan: In the Perspective Plan MRT has been considered in the sector of urban transport infrastructure. The vision of the Perspective Plan is to expand and improve the MRT system to provide safer, better, more environment friendly and cost-effective transport facility to city dwellers. MRT will adopt modern technology and metro rail will ensure safety. One of the key strategies of the Perspective Plan is to Rehabilitate, upgrade/ improve and replace old-aged infrastructures to reduce journey time, improve the service quality and to build the image of urban transport.
7th Five Year Plan: In the 7th Five Year Plan, government places special emphasis on urban communication. In this plan MRT system is mentioned as one of the priorities transport system in Dhaka City.
SDG: Sustainable transport is essential to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Although sustainable transport is not represented by a standalone SDG, it is mainstreamed across several SDGs and targets, especially those related to food security, health, energy, infrastructure and cities and human settlements. Goal 9 of SDG’s is “Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”. One of the key targets of Goal 9 is to Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all. So, development of MRT as a mass transportation system would help to achieve Goal 9 of SDG’s.
11. Contribution of the Project in achieving the Vision, Mission of the Ministry/ Division and Implementing Agency:
The Vision and mission of DMTCL as follows: -
Vision: 1. Moving People
2. Saving Time & Energy.
Mission:
* To establish, operate and maintain MRT System in and around Dhaka City
* To introduce new MRT phase by phase
* To implement effective corporate management for the timely completion and continued advancement of MRT
* To contribute in reducing the traffic congestion
* To help improving the environment by least carbon emission
*To provide a safe, fast, reliable, accessible, comfortable and affordable public transport service all in a sustainable manner
The Vision and Mission of DMTCL is directly related with the mission and vision of the Ministry and the Government.
12. Whether private sector/local government or NGO's participation is considered:
NGO’s will be engaged for preparation of Land Acquisition Plan (LAP) and implementation of Resettlement Action Plan (RAP).
13. Major Conditionality (i.e.s) for Foreign Aida: The project will be implemented under the Guidelines for Procurement under Japanese ODA Loans, April 2012 and the Guidelines for Procurement of Consultants under Japanese ODA Loans, April 2012.
14. Involvement of Compensation, Rehabilitation/ Resettlement. Indicate the magnitude and cost: The detailed Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) including Land Acquisition Plan (LAP) has been prepared for this project. The cost has been estimated at BDT 235500 lakh for resettlement and land acquisition.
15. Risk Analysis and Mitigation Measures. Identify risks during implementation & operation:
Traffic Management during construction; Relocation of Uncharted Utilities during construction and Disposal of Excavated Soil for Underground Section (1,60,000 tons per station and 41,664 tons per km) are the major challenges for this project. To overcome these challenges support from the stakeholders namely, DWASA, TITAS, BTCL, Dhaka North City Corporation, DPDC, RHD etc. are required. The Executing Agency will co-ordinate with the stakeholders to overcome the challenges mentioned above. Disposal of Excavated Soil for Underground Section will be utilized in other road projects namely, Dhaka Circular Road, Dhaka-Sylhet Highway and Dhaka Bypass etc.
16. Sustainability of the Project Benefit: This is a sustainable project as it will contribute in reducing the traffic congestion and in improving the environment of Dhaka City and its adjoining areas. World class consultant team for designing was engaged for designing the project. World class contractor firms will be engaged. World class supervision consultant engaged to ensure the sustainability of the project. This project will certainly boost-up the economy of the country.
Dhaka City is the capital of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. The Dhaka Metropolitan Area (DMA) has a population of 9.3 million as 2011. Currently, urban transportation in DMA relies mostly on road transport, such as car, bus, auto-rickshaw, rickshaw, etc. All those creates serious traffic congestion in addition to health hazards caused by traffic pollution including air pollution. With the rapid national economic growth, the urban population is expected to increase and so will the number of privately-owned automobiles. Therefore, improvement of the urban (public) transportation system in the DMA has become critical to ease traffic congestion and stop further environmental deterioration.
Opening Year Ridership Per Day: -
For Line 1, the expected opening year ridership is 859,461 per day in 2026.
Carbon Emission Reduction: -
With the help of linear interpolation, Line 1 carbon emission reduction can be estimated to be 460,502 tons of CO2 per year.
Though this value is an approximation, however, this is most realistic estimation under the lack of traffic model data.
Table 01: MRT1 Station Wise Boarding and Alighting Passengers in Peak Time
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| Value of 2041 is adopted | ||
station | 2026 | 2036 | 2056 | 2041 | |||||
| Boarding | Alighting | Boarding | Alighting | Boarding | Alighting | Boarding | Alighting | Sub-total | |
station 4(North) | 0 | 0 | 6,107 | 8,978 | 7,808 | 8,565 | 6,532 | 8,875 | 15,407 |
station 3(North) | 0 | 0 | 3,453 | 3,597 | 5,241 | 6,656 | 3,900 | 4,362 | 8,262 |
station 2(North) | 0 | 0 | 9,870 | 7,898 | 15,807 | 10,449 | 11,354 | 8,536 | 19,890 |
station 1(North) | 0 | 0 | 36,369 | 21,047 | 67,474 | 37,926 | 44,145 | 25,267 | 69,412 |
Airport | 4,408 | 6,810 | 3,516 | 5,920 | 5,262 | 17,061 | 3,953 | 8,705 | 12,658 |
Airport Terminal 3 | 559 | 166 | 1,370 | 1,038 | 3,090 | 1,581 | 1,800 | 1,174 | 2,974 |
Khilkhet | 598 | 1,291 | 2,681 | 5,094 | 4,977 | 10,077 | 3,255 | 6,340 | 9,595 |
Future Park | 11,482 | 14,908 | 18,018 | 29,660 | 26,837 | 57,694 | 20,223 | 36,669 | 56,891 |
Notun Bazar | 40,254 | 25,096 | 33,644 | 32,376 | 50,464 | 46,289 | 37,849 | 35,854 | 73,703 |
Uttar Badda | 1,291 | 2,099 | 2,657 | 6,914 | 3,179 | 9,090 | 2,788 | 7,458 | 10,246 |
Badda | 73 | 202 | 137 | 686 | 82 | 147 | 123 | 551 | 675 |
Hatir Jheel | 2,921 | 5,116 | 6,885 | 7,169 | 7,695 | 6,533 | 7,088 | 7,010 | 14,098 |
Rampura | 1,313 | 1,662 | 3,991 | 2,280 | 2,751 | 1,843 | 3,681 | 2,171 | 5,852 |
Malibagh | 8,664 | 4,759 | 5,030 | 5,866 | 8,901 | 8,151 | 5,998 | 6,437 | 12,435 |
Rajarbagh | 4,411 | 5,476 | 3,413 | 9,273 | 5,003 | 14,064 | 3,811 | 10,471 | 14,281 |
Kamalapur | 2,812 | 3,032 | 2,375 | 1,201 | 777 | 697 | 1,976 | 1,075 | 3,051 |
Station1(South) | 0 | 0 | 1,490 | 758 | 1,235 | 497 | 1,426 | 693 | 2,119 |
Station2(South) | 0 | 0 | 4,879 | 3,276 | 3,604 | 2,187 | 4,560 | 3,004 | 7,564 |
Station3(South) | 0 | 0 | 1,348 | 1,978 | 2,218 | 2,807 | 1,566 | 2,185 | 3,751 |
Bashundhara | 2,602 | 2,474 | 2,017 | 1,976 | 2,991 | 2,997 | 2,261 | 2,231 | 4,492 |
POHS | 1,955 | 9,433 | 1,306 | 5,127 | 748 | 2,577 | 1,167 | 4,490 | 5,656 |
Mastul | 973 | 3,739 | 13,351 | 8,093 | 19,147 | 8,674 | 14,800 | 8,238 | 23,038 |
Purbachal West | 6,697 | 9,234 | 5,475 | 5,687 | 8,230 | 6,231 | 6,164 | 5,823 | 11,987 |
Purbachal Central | 4,887 | 3,453 | 6,309 | 4,538 | 8,768 | 6,495 | 6,924 | 5,027 | 11,951 |
Purbachal East | 6,428 | 4,620 | 8,066 | 5,831 | 11,303 | 8,414 | 8,875 | 6,477 | 15,352 |
Purbachal Terminal | 13,414 | 12,172 | 10,849 | 8,345 | 18,684 | 14,574 | 12,808 | 9,902 | 22,710 |
※The numerical value of 2041 was founded in straight line interpolation from numerical value of 2036 and 2056. |
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Table 02: MRT1 Station Wise Boarding and Alighting Passengers (Daily)
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| Value of 2041 is adopted | ||
station | 2026 | 2036 | 2056 | 2041 | |||||
| Boarding | Alighting | Boarding | Alighting | Boarding | Alighting | Boarding | Alighting | Sub-total | |
station 4(North) | 0 | 0 | 57,848 | 53,548 | 107,626 | 106,820 | 70,293 | 66,866 | 137,159 |
station 3(North) | 0 | 0 | 31,395 | 21,761 | 58,081 | 42,714 | 38,067 | 26,999 | 65,066 |
station 2(North) | 0 | 0 | 66,565 | 70,524 | 118,271 | 120,137 | 79,492 | 82,927 | 162,419 |
station 1(North) | 0 | 0 | 156,013 | 164,481 | 274,216 | 300,791 | 185,564 | 198,559 | 384,122 |
Airport | 41,258 | 39,427 | 23,465 | 28,206 | 35,174 | 52,160 | 26,392 | 34,195 | 60,587 |
Airport Terminal 3 | 5,155 | 1,247 | 17,504 | 6,312 | 32,635 | 10,984 | 21,287 | 7,480 | 28,767 |
Khilkhet | 5,568 | 7,842 | 22,067 | 25,550 | 38,692 | 50,448 | 26,223 | 31,775 | 57,998 |
Future Park | 107,251 | 115,559 | 134,745 | 165,467 | 216,621 | 286,533 | 155,214 | 195,734 | 350,948 |
Notun Bazar | 279,788 | 223,262 | 199,303 | 216,853 | 347,874 | 384,785 | 236,446 | 258,836 | 495,282 |
Uttar Badda | 13,129 | 12,495 | 25,884 | 30,210 | 47,247 | 56,924 | 31,225 | 36,889 | 68,113 |
Badda | 984 | 1,627 | 1,498 | 1,766 | 2,008 | 2,902 | 1,626 | 2,050 | 3,676 |
Hatir Jheel | 22,460 | 29,109 | 80,519 | 52,855 | 129,188 | 78,277 | 92,686 | 59,211 | 151,897 |
Rampura | 13,450 | 14,492 | 20,462 | 16,730 | 39,064 | 28,237 | 25,113 | 19,607 | 44,719 |
Malibagh | 59,058 | 38,545 | 50,167 | 34,958 | 92,443 | 72,428 | 60,736 | 44,326 | 105,062 |
Rajarbagh | 45,131 | 33,079 | 37,390 | 37,615 | 71,120 | 62,574 | 45,823 | 43,855 | 89,677 |
Kamalapur | 28,035 | 30,191 | 23,772 | 12,466 | 44,845 | 23,213 | 29,040 | 15,153 | 44,193 |
Station1(South) | 0 | 0 | 13,984 | 11,128 | 21,425 | 16,045 | 15,844 | 12,357 | 28,202 |
Station2(South) | 0 | 0 | 28,903 | 33,007 | 54,376 | 68,298 | 35,271 | 41,830 | 77,101 |
Station3(South) | 0 | 0 | 12,710 | 18,729 | 21,761 | 29,571 | 14,973 | 21,440 | 36,412 |
Bashundhara | 22,073 | 20,842 | 17,871 | 17,498 | 25,080 | 25,137 | 19,673 | 19,408 | 39,081 |
POHS | 20,079 | 40,579 | 12,647 | 15,383 | 18,191 | 21,863 | 14,033 | 17,003 | 31,036 |
Mastul | 10,520 | 16,632 | 54,430 | 69,144 | 92,829 | 127,598 | 64,030 | 83,758 | 147,787 |
Purbachal West | 51,983 | 56,111 | 42,699 | 32,796 | 73,076 | 47,319 | 50,293 | 36,427 | 86,720 |
Purbachal Central | 22,022 | 27,332 | 37,441 | 36,819 | 66,085 | 54,297 | 44,602 | 41,189 | 85,791 |
Purbachal East | 30,305 | 37,035 | 48,210 | 47,422 | 84,846 | 69,811 | 57,369 | 53,019 | 110,388 |
Purbachal Terminal | 81,212 | 114,055 | 81,567 | 77,831 | 166,646 | 139,554 | 102,837 | 93,262 | 196,099 |
※The numerical value of 2041 was founded in straight line interpolation from numerical value of 2036 and 2056. |
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Passenger Demand Forecast of MRT Line 1
Overall Daily Ridership (Line 1 & Line 6)
Line | Daily Ridership |
Line 1 (Y2056) | 2,279,420 |
Line 6 (Y2056) | 1,442,000 |
Station Wise Boarding and Alighting Passengers
Station | 2036 | 2056 | ||||
Boarding | Alighting | Total | Boarding | Alighting | Total | |
Rajarbagh | 37,390 | 37,615 | 75,005 | 71,120 | 62,574 | 133,694 |
Kamlapur | 23,772 | 12,466 | 36,238 | 44,845 | 23,213 | 68,058 |
Airport | 23,465 | 28,206 | 51,671 | 35,174 | 52,160 | 87,334 |
Airport Terminal 3 | 17,504 | 6,312 | 23,816 | 32,635 | 10,984 | 43,619 |
Md. Abul Kashem Bhuiyan Project Director Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project (Line-1) E-mail pdmrt1@dmtcl.gov.bd Phone (Office): 02-41025960 |

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