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Bus Rapid Transit Line

Project faces hurdles at beginning, say experts

Staff Correspondent
The implementation of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Line-3 will be a huge challenge for the government as it is facing numerous hurdles and complications at the preliminary stage, experts said yesterday.
They said finalisation of its proposed alignment stretching from Uttara to Sadarghat via Shahjalal International Airport, Mohakhali, Moghbazar, Babubazar, and Gulistan may take a couple of years more due to the city's unplanned urbanisation and transport system.
Potential conflicts with the underconstruction elevated expressway and Kuril, Moghbazar, Mohakhali, and Gulistan flyovers as well as the proposed metro rail are the other hurdles of the BRT line outlined in the Strategic Transport Plan (SPT) in 2008.
The narrowness of the roads is another major barrier for the BRT line,
observed the experts in a presentation of inception reports on the BRT route and Dhaka Bus Network and Regulatory Reform Implementation Study at Sonargaon Hotel in the city.
Three BRT lines have been outlined in the STP, a 20-year plan, which aims at removing the ever-increasing traffic congestion in the capital. Of them, the government chose the BRT line-3 as a priority, which was later extended to Gazipur from Uttara.
About three years ago, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank came forward to help the government conduct feasibility study for theBRT-3.
The ADB has already completed the study and is now preparing detail design of the BRT while the WB just concluded the pre-feasibility study. It will start feasibility study soon.
"The Kuril flyover will be the first bottleneck of the BRT", said Arnest J Mata, leader of the WB team for the BRT line, while presenting his inception
paper. "It will be a big challenge for us to overcome all the hurdles and complications as we move with the BRT line", he added.
International consultant Sergio Tio placed his concept paper on "Dhaka bus network and regulatory reform implementation study and design workproject".
He said, "We will face a challenge to reorganise routes for various types of transports in the existing road networks, huge population, and the unplanned transport system in the city".
"Seventeen projects are now being implemented in the city in an unplanned way that will make the task difficult", he said, urging the WB experts to look into the projects before finalising the BRT alignment.
Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain spoke at the function as the chief guest. Buet's Prof Dr Alamgir Mujibul Haque moderated the programme.