Bus Rapid Transit
Route construction may begin in a year
Says project official
The construction of the route for faster bus service, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), stretching from the capital's Shahjalal International Airport to Keraniganj is likely to begin within a year, its project director said yesterday.
The final design of the project is expected in a year, and the construction will begin shortly afterwards with an estimated deadline of 2015, Anisur Rahman told a workshop on the final feasibility report on the proposed 22-km route.
The World Bank is likely to fund the $277 million scheme, he told The Daily Star.
Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority organised the workshop at a city hotel.
The BRT is a dedicated, improved transport service with articulated (conjoined) buses to carry an estimated 20,000 passengers per hour in one direction. It would help ease the horrendous traffic jam in Dhaka city, say experts.
The sooner the BRT is in place, the better it is for addressing the traffic problem, said noted transport planning expert Dr M Rahmatullah.
Two central lanes of the existing road will constitute the BRT route, and there will be an adequate number of stations along the route for short-distance travellers.
The entire BRT route however will require a dozen elevated overpasses and coordination with other upcoming transport projects.
The airport-Sadarghat route makes up one part of the 45-kilometre BRT route from Gazipur to Sadarghat.
A Spanish consultation firm Advanced Logistic Group carried out the feasibility study and has prepared the preliminary design with World Bank fund.
The same firm did the feasibility study on the 23-km Gazipur-airport section that is now under construction.
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