Mirpur 10 metro station reopens, repair costs Tk1.25cr
During a visit to the station, Faizul Kabir Khan, advisor to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges addressed the media, saying, "There have been various discussions about the costs involved in restoring this station, but we have spent only Tk 1.25 crore. Additionally, the repairs for Kazipara station cost us slightly over Tk20 lakh"
The Mirpur-10 metro rail station reopened today (15 October), almost three months after it was vandalised in July, with repairs costing Tk1.25 crore.
Road Transport and Bridges Adviser M Fouzul Kabir Khan, while addressing journalists and metro passengers at the station, said, "Today we reopened the Mirpur-10 metro station after two months and 17 days and a total of Tk1.25 crore has been spent on repairing the station."
He attributed the low repair cost, which the previous management had estimated to be Tk300cr, to the collaborative efforts of metro rail officials and a committee of experts with international metro rail experience.
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He further said equipment from other metro stations had been temporarily relocated to restore operations at Mirpur-10.
"We plan to purchase replacements for those items and return them to their respective stations. We have estimated the cost for the equipment, along with some additional parts, to be Tk17.60 crore. So in total, we estimate that the cost for these replacements will be Tk18.86 crore," he added.
The adviser also assured that the repair costs would be covered by the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited's funds, avoiding the need for government allocation.
Fouzul Kabir further said, earlier on 20 September, the damaged Kazipara Station was reopened with repairs costing around Tk22 lakh, and with Mirpur-10 back in service, the entire Dhaka metro system is now operational.
Regarding the vandalism at the Mirpur 10 and Kazipara metro stations, Fouzul clarified that students were not involved in the rampage.
"The vandalism was caused by miscreants. The perpetrators will be identified through CCTV footage, which we have already sent to the IGP. They will face legal action," assured the adviser.
He also highlighted that efforts should always be made to prevent wastage in government projects, mentioning plans to review and improve project management with an aim to prevent cost overruns and delays in future.
Replying to a query, the road transport and bridges adviser said fare adjustments of the metro service would be considered in the future if necessary.
The closure of the station occurred on 18 July during the anti-discrimination student movement, when a police box at the Mirpur-10 roundabout was set on fire. The metro service was suspended at 5pm that day, and the following day, both the Mirpur-10 and Kazipara stations were vandalised.
Visiting the station on 20 July, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited's then managing director MAN Siddique had said, "It may take about a year to repair and reopen the two damaged stations [Mirpur-10 and Kazipara]."
