BRT tragedy as repeated warnings fell on deaf ears

The two Chinese contractors of the Dhaka airport-Gazipur Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) were warned multiple times by the consultant and the government implementation and monitoring agency over the construction safety flaws, but to no avail.

The latest report in July by the project consultant SMEC Int Pty Ltd & Associates mentioned that the project site lacks safety barriers.

Despite repeated instructions, the contractors are not providing the workers with safety harnesses, face shields, gloves and goggles.

The report also expressed concerns over construction materials left right in the middle of the busy road by the contractors – China Gezhouba Group Co Ltd (CGGC) and Jiangsu Provincial Transportation and Group Co Ltd (JTEG).

In 2020, the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) inspected the project and warned of major fatal accidents due to inadequate safety measures.

But the contractors did not listen to those cautionary advice, as a series of mishaps took place almost on a regular basis.

On 14 March last year, six people were injured as a girder of the BRT fell on them. The next day, a pier cap came off in Abdullahpur.

On 9 July of the current year, one person was killed and two others were injured as a BRT girder collapsed at Chandna in Gazipur.    

Latest, the Dhaka BRT tragedy happened on Monday as five people of a family including two children died after a girder of the BRT project fell on a private car in the city's Uttara area.

The BRT project was undertaken in 2012 with a deadline of 2016.

The Gezhouba Group is constructing the 16 km road on the BRT route, flyovers, 19 BRT stations and roadside drains. The firm secured the work by offering a rate that is 6.52% less than estimated cost of Tk915 crore.

On the other hand, the Jiangsu Provincial Transportation and Group is building a four-kilometre elevated road.

According to officials, the project failed to lodge desired progress even after five years of the deadline mainly due to the slow and careless construction by the Chinese contractors.

But the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges did not take any action against the contractors, rather generously allowed them to extend the deadline time and again, driving up the cost to Tk4,268 crore from initial Tk2,228 crore.

The 2020 IMED report also pointed the finger at poor feasibility study, flaws in design, changing the design amid the implementation and adding and removing components.      

If the work was completed on time with proper planning, it would have been possible to travel from Gazipur to Dhaka airport in just 20 minutes. About 25,000 passengers could be transported on this road per hour.
 
Riddled with problems from scratch

The implementation of BRT Line-3 from Dhaka airport to Sadarghat route has been recommended in the Strategic Transport Plan developed in 2005 with the assistance of the World Bank to streamline the capital's transport system. To spread this facility outside Dhaka, later, an initiative was taken to extend the project to Gazipur.

Under the urban transport project supported by the ADB, building a BRT line on the Gazipur-Dhaka airport road was first suggested in the feasibility study.

In the light of this recommendation, a project titled "Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Project (BRT)" was taken up in 2012 with the financial support of the ADB to build a 20.5 km dedicated bus corridor at a cost of around Tk2040 crore.

Later, the project cost doubled due to various complications. The government backtracked on the decision to build the BRT from the airport to Sadarghat to avoid the reappearance of the crisis.
 
Flip-flopping on designs time and again

Due to weakness in the feasibility study and the project design, the authorities are forced to change the design of the BRT project from time to time.

In the original project, a 2.81km flyover was to be constructed, but in the amendment, it has been increased to 5.07 km.

Four flyovers will be converted into six lanes instead of four lanes. Among them, defects were found in the design of the flyover at Ghazipur intersection.

There was a plan to construct a 3.5km flyover, but later it was increased to 4.5km. Construction of a footpath along this important road was added in the amendment. Construction of separate service lanes for slow-moving vehicles on both sides of the road was also added later.
 
Five years went past before field work came into view

The project director and a consultant were appointed in the year following the approval. Detail design, tender process for various works took a long time to complete.

After all the processes, the first deal with the contractor was signed in early 2016. And, the last package deal was done in 2016. As such, five years have passed since the beginning of the work at the field level. In the meantime, the project deadline expired.
 
What the experts say

Shamsul Haque, civil engineering professor of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and a public transportation expert, said, "There were major imperfections and flaws in the design of the project. Completion of a project becomes difficult when the scope of work changes mid-project."

He pointed out that there is no alternative to footpaths in a busy area.

"Besides, modern drainage systems must be kept. Arrangements should also be made for how the road transport will operate along the BRT," he said.

He feels the future of the project has become uncertain as not all these aspects were taken into consideration in the beginning and were later added and amended.

"Such a precedent of conducting construction work by putting people's lives at risk cannot be found in any other countries of the world. Contractors put people's lives at risk just to save a few bucks. This is purely because of the inefficiency of the implementing agencies," he said.

Shafiqul Islam, managing director of the BRT project, says that the contractor has a shortage of money and people. As a result, the security arrangement was inadequate.

He also said that the BRT authorities cannot avoid the responsibility of the accident.

Analysts believe Monday's accident could have been avoided if action had been taken against those whose inefficiency or negligence caused accidents in the same project earlier.

Professor Adil Muhammad Khan, executive director of Institute for Planning and Development said, "Although late, it has caught the authorities' attention."

On Tuesday, Dhaka north Mayor Atiqul Islam said the safety will have to be ensured first, then the work will resume.
 
A construction site already prone to traffic mishap

Project consultant SMEC Int Pty Ltd & Associates said in the report that a total of 45,493 different types of vehicles move daily on the route and as a result, it is prone to traffic congestion and road accidents.

The consultant stressed on updating and implementing the Traffic Management Plan (TMP) prepared by the consultant during the detailed design phase prior to the construction starts.

The report urged the constructors to communicate to the public through local officials regarding the scope and schedule of the construction, as well as construction activities causing disruptions or access restrictions.

In coordination with local traffic authorities, it recommended the implementation of appropriate traffic diversion schemes to avoid inconvenience to road users, ensure smooth traffic flow, and avoid or minimise accidents, traffic hold ups, and congestion due to project operations.

The consultant report also suggested installing bold diversion signs that would be clearly visible even at night, and provide flag persons to warn of dangerous conditions to ensure safety for vehicles and pedestrians moving around construction areas.

The consultant firm said in its report that very little of their recommendations were adopted.