Ctg to be gateway to South Asia, says mayor, as MoU signed for monorail
The project will be implemented under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, and investment will come through NAS Investment and the National Bank of Egypt
In a first in the country, a monorail will be constructed in Chattogram, spanning around 54 kilometres within the city.
Today (1 June), a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed for the project, worth Tk20,000-25,000 crore.
As the chief guest at the signing event, Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Shahadat Hossain said the entire financing for the project will be provided by foreign investment companies—Orascom Construction and Arab Contractors.
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"The city corporation will not have any financial responsibility for the investment, other than providing necessary logistical support and land."
The mayor articulated his hope that, upon implementation, the monorail will effect a groundbreaking change in the public transit sector of the port city.
He said the monorail will not only help alleviate traffic congestion, but will also help transform Chattogram into an eco-friendly, tourism- and business-friendly city. "The monorail will serve as a modern bridge linking to South Asia."
The mayor also announced plans to restructure Chattogram into a "one city, two towns" model, and said, "We want to harness Chattogram's potential as a tourist destination, and the monorail project will significantly contribute to achieving that goal."
Kawsar Ahmed Chowdhury, chief representative of Orascom Construction-Arab Contractors Consortium, presented the financing, technology and implementation framework of the monorail project.
The project will be implemented under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, and investment will come through NAS Investment and the National Bank of Egypt, he said.
The three possible routes of the project are— Line-1 spanning 26.5 km from Kalurghat to the airport via Bahaddarhat, Chawkbazar, Lalkhan Bazar, Dewanhat and Patenga; Line-2 spanning 13.5 km from city gate to Shaheed Bashiruzzaman Square via AK Khan, Nimtali, Sadarghat and Firingi Bazar, and Line-3 covering 14.5 km from Oxygen Square to Firingi Bazar via Muradpur, Panchlaish, Anderkilla and Kotwali.
CCC Chief Executive Officer Sheikh Muhammad Towhidul Islam, Chief Revenue Officer Sarwar Kamal, and Greater Chittagong Economic Forum Member Secretary Nazir Shahin, among others, were present at the signing event.
