3 metro routes, one bigger Dhaka network: Where will they run and who will benefit?
New corridors will connect airport, Purbachal, Mirpur and southern Dhaka
The government has approved three major metro rail projects involving nearly Tk2.5 lakh crore, adding two east-west corridors and a north-south corridor to Dhaka's expanding mass-transit network.
The projects comprise the MRT Line-1, MRT Line-5 Northern Route, and MRT Line-5 Southern Route.
Once implemented, these three corridors will connect key areas including Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA), Purbachal, Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Tejgaon, Gulshan, Badda, Aftabnagar, and Dasherkandi, while creating several interchange points with the existing MRT Line-6.
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MRT Line-1, which will include the country's first underground metro rail section, will pass through areas including HSIA, HSIA Terminal-3, Khilkhet, Nadda, Notun Bazar, Uttar Badda, Badda, Aftabnagar, Rampura, Malibagh, Rajarbagh, and Kamalapur.
The Purbachal branch of MRT Line-1 will pass through Notun Bazar, Nadda, Joar Sahara, Boalia, Mostul, Purbachal Cricket Stadium, Purbachal Centre, Purbachal East, Purbachal Terminal, and Pitalganj Depot.
The stations on the MRT Line-5 Northern Route will include Hemayetpur, Baliarpur, Bilamalia, Aminbazar, Gabtoli, Darus Salam, Mirpur-1, Mirpur-10, Mirpur-14, Kochukhet, Banani, Gulshan-2, Notun Bazar, and Bhatara.
The stations on the MRT Line-5 Southern Route will include Gabtoli, Technical, Kallyanpur, Shyamoli, College Gate, Asad Gate, Russell Square, Karwan Bazar, Hatirjheel, Tejgaon, Aftabnagar, Aftabnagar Centre, Aftabnagar East, Nasirabad, and Dasherkandi.
The result will be a much more interconnected metro network rather than a collection of standalone routes.
Residents of the areas along these corridors will have faster and more convenient access to different parts of Dhaka, with passengers able to transfer between lines at key interchange stations.
The network will improve connectivity for commuters travelling between the airport, Purbachal, Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Gulshan, Badda, Tejgaon, Aftabnagar, Dasherkandi, and other major areas, reducing their reliance on road-based transport.
MRT Line-1 and MRT Line-5 Northern are revised versions of projects approved earlier, while MRT Line-5 Southern is a new project.
The first two will be funded with Japanese assistance, while the Line-5 Southern project will receive financing from the Asian Development Bank and South Korea.
The 31.24-kilometre MRT Line-1 project has an estimated cost of Tk1,14,394.89 crore. The project is now targeted for completion by 2033.
The 20-kilometre MRT Line-5 Northern project has an estimated cost of Tk89,848.36 crore.
The MRT Line-5 Southern project has an estimated cost of Tk45,503 crore.
