Subways to ease traffic congestion

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has said the government is planning to construct an underground railway network with a view to easing traffic congestion in the capital city. "Almost half of city’s 80 lakh people will be able to move smoothly with this underground railway network as it would reduce city’s traffic gridlock significantly," he said.

The minister revealed the plan while speaking at a seminar on feasibility study of Dhaka subway construction at a city hotel here this morning virtually joining from his official residence on Wednesday, reports BSS.

Japanese PADECO, BCL Associates, KSC and BETS have been appointed as the consultant organisations with the supervision of Spanish Typsa for conducting feasibility study of the subway network, said Quader, also general secretary of the ruling Awami League. Initially, four routes have been included under primary design, he said.

The four routes are 29-kilometre-long Jhilmil to Tongi, 23 kilometre-long Shahkabir Mazar road to Sadarghat, nearly 20-kilometre-long Keraniganj to Sanapur and 48-kilometre long Jahangir Nagar University to Narayanganj.

Regarding the opening of the Padma Bridge, the minister said the multipurpose bridge will be opened for the vehicular movement by June 2022.

Almost 92.50 per cent construction works of the main bridge have been completed while the overall progress is over 84 percent, he added.

About the construction progress of 2.50km long Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman tunnel, which is being constructed under the river Karnophuly in Chattogram, the ruling party leader said construction progress of the tunnel

is 65 percent.

Spanish Ambassador Francisco de Asís Benítez Salas and Secretary (Bridge Division) M Belayet Hossain, among others, attended the seminar.