MRT symbolizes changing Dhaka’s face: Ambassador Ito Naoki

 It gives a sudden feeling of excitement and pleasure when you see the metro-rail is approaching the station at a speed of 100 km per hour. This is something we usually see in other countries.

With much pride, by December next year, commuters can say that they too have such a modern transportation system in place. The year 2022 is the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh-Japan diplomatic relations.

"The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) symbolizes the changing face of Dhaka," said Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki on Tuesday during a press tour as passengers' transportation in the Uttara-Agargaon section of MRT, Line-6 is set to begin in December next year.

Selector at BCB national selection panel and former captain Habibul Bashar, selector and former left arm spinner Abdur Razzak and national team all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz also joined.

The Ambassador said he was so thrilled when he found that some prominent cricketers shared posts on metro rail on their Facebook pages.

"The cricketers have fans and supporters and now they've become fans and supporters of metro rail," Naoki said welcoming the trio.

He said this project is the integral part of the BIG-B (The Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth-Belt) Initiative and a first track project designated by Bangladesh which attracts a lot of people.

The Ambassador said the flagship project has faced many challenges, including Covid-19 pandemic, and Japan has been working with Bangladesh to overcome these challenges.

Despite such difficult circumstances, he said, the construction work has made steady progress and the commercial opening of the new facility is steadily approaching.

Ambassador Naoki said Bangladesh and Japan are time-tested friends and through cooperation the two countries have set many milestones in fulfilling their shared dream. "Our relations will further be strengthened," he said.

The Ambassador said, "Hopefully, we can have an exchange high-level visit but nothing has been decided yet. That would be fantastic if the high-level visit takes place during the opening of the metro rail."

Hayakawa Yuho, Chief Representative, JICA Bangladesh Office said the work is progressing rapidly and it is truly a mega project. "Countless memories will be created by the MRT. Let's create a new metro culture together."

Habibul Bashar said they are happy to see such a project in place that will make life easier and save time.

"I didn't get any opportunity to see such a vast project. I would say it's a massive project. We're very excited to see that like developed countries we are also going to have similar facilities here. This is a sign that Bangladesh is progressing fast," said Abdur Razzak.

MAN Siddique, Managing Director of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd (DMTCL), the implementing agency of the fast-track project, said currently test runs of seven trains are underway and they will be able to begin transporting passengers comfortably if they have 10 to 12 trains which will be arriving well before the planned beginning.

He said they will recommend fares keeping in mind affordability of the passengers and it will hopefully be fixed by the government while the train will run every 3.5 minutes from Uttara to Agargaon.

Siddique said they faced many challenges but now they are in a comfortable situation as Covid-19 came under control in the country.

MRT Line-6, the country's first metro rail system with 16 stations, will help reduce travel time between Uttara and Motijheel.