The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) on Thursday approved eight procurement proposals worth a total of 58,477.74 crore taka for the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) to advance the construction of MRT Line-1 and MRT Line-5 North.
The approvals cover civil and building works, metro rail lines and stations, track works, electrical facilities, signalling, telecommunications and other operational systems for the two metro rail projects.
Of the eight packages, six are for MRT Line-1, also known as the Airport Line, while the remaining two are for MRT Line-5 North.
Under MRT Line-1, the committee approved a 4,285.07 crore taka contract for civil and building works at the depot under Contract Package CP-02. The work will be carried out by the SINOHYDRO-SEBCL joint venture.
It also approved an 18,037.26 crore taka contract for construction of the main line and stations from north of Rampura to Natun Bazar under CP-04. The TOKYU-MIL (MAX Infrastructure Ltd.) joint venture will implement the package.
A 11,590.58 crore taka contract was approved under CP-06 for construction of 5.182 kilometres of the main line from north of Nadda to Airport Station. The NISHIMATSU-TPL-TODA joint venture will carry out the work.
Another contract, worth 2,534.09 crore taka, was approved under CP-07 for construction of 5.007 kilometres of the main line from the transition section to the beginning of the Balu River section. The CREC-MIL-MBEC joint venture will implement the package.
The committee also approved an 11,065.58 crore taka contract under CP-09 for track works and electrical facilities. The L&T-Sumitomo Consortium will implement the package.
Under CP-10, Larsen and Toubro Limited received approval for a 6,446.65 crore taka contract covering signalling, telecommunications, platform screen doors and enterprise resource management systems.
For MRT Line-5 North, the committee approved a 1,847.52 crore taka contract for civil and building works at the depot under CP-02. The CPC-HANIL joint venture, comprising Concord Pragatee Consortium Ltd. and Hanil Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd., will implement the package.
The other contract for the northern route, worth 2,670.99 crore taka, was approved under CP-03. It covers construction of the main line and five stations along the elevated sections from Hemayetpur Station to Amin Bazar Transition and from Natun Bazar Transition to Vatara Station.
The CREC-MIL-MBEC joint venture, comprising China Railway Group Limited, Max Infrastructure Limited and China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group Co. Ltd., will implement the package.
The eight contracts involve companies and joint ventures from Japan, China, India and South Korea, reflecting the participation of international engineering firms in the development of Dhaka’s metro rail network.
MRT Line-1 is planned as Bangladesh’s first underground metro rail line, connecting key areas of the capital, including the airport. MRT Line-5 North is designed to provide an east-west transport corridor through elevated and underground sections.
The projects are being implemented by DMTCL under the Road Transport and Highways Division, with Japanese development cooperation playing a significant role in their financing.
The approvals are expected to facilitate major civil engineering and systems works for the two routes as part of efforts to expand Dhaka’s mass transit network and improve urban mobility.