Dhaka Madani Avenue (Sylhet Highway connector) construction update
🇧🇩 Buses, Metro Rail, Urban Transport & City Road Infra (1 Viewer)
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Bangladesh Defense Forum
Don’t turn metro rail into a status symbol
Imposing VAT on metro fares and taking the service further away from the poor, it risks becoming more like a status vehicle—which rich commuters already have plenty of.
VAT on metro fare
Don't turn metro rail into a status symbol
PHOTO: Monorom Polok
Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about the proposed imposition of a 15 percent VAT on the Dhaka metro rail service. The metro train ticket is currently VAT-exempt, a facility that will expire on June 30.
The National Board of Revenue is unwilling to extend the exemption as part of efforts to generate revenue for funding development projects aimed at making Bangladesh a developed nation by 2041. However, on Sunday, the road transport and bridges minister, Obaidul Quader, said that he had requested the prime minister to reconsider NBR's decision.
The minimum fare for the metro rail is Tk 20, while the per-kilometre fare is set at Tk 5. On the other hand, the per-kilometre fare in a city bus is set at Tk 2.42 and the minimum fare at Tk 10. So, on the surface, the metro fare may not seem much. But for many people from lower-income backgrounds, the difference between the bus and metro rail fares is significant enough to deter them from using the rail service. This difference further adds up when you cover the whole distance between Uttara and Motijheel. For the one-fifth of the population living below the poverty line, it means that they cannot use the service even at its current fare despite its comfort and fast commute times.
Don't turn metro rail into a status symbol
PHOTO: Monorom Polok
Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about the proposed imposition of a 15 percent VAT on the Dhaka metro rail service. The metro train ticket is currently VAT-exempt, a facility that will expire on June 30.
The National Board of Revenue is unwilling to extend the exemption as part of efforts to generate revenue for funding development projects aimed at making Bangladesh a developed nation by 2041. However, on Sunday, the road transport and bridges minister, Obaidul Quader, said that he had requested the prime minister to reconsider NBR's decision.
The minimum fare for the metro rail is Tk 20, while the per-kilometre fare is set at Tk 5. On the other hand, the per-kilometre fare in a city bus is set at Tk 2.42 and the minimum fare at Tk 10. So, on the surface, the metro fare may not seem much. But for many people from lower-income backgrounds, the difference between the bus and metro rail fares is significant enough to deter them from using the rail service. This difference further adds up when you cover the whole distance between Uttara and Motijheel. For the one-fifth of the population living below the poverty line, it means that they cannot use the service even at its current fare despite its comfort and fast commute times.
To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.
2nd Road Link being built over Turag River from Uttara to Tongi.
Current Status of 48 KM Gazipur to NarayanGanj Dhaka-Bypass Expressway
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Bogra City portion of Dhaka-Elenga-Rangpur 6 lane highway
Current status of Dhaka's Newest DOHS and suburb Jolshiri - which is also the country's latest smart city project.
Dhaka Metro MRT Line 1 is the 2nd Metro Line to be built after the first - MRT Line 6. Depot construction for MRT-1 is proceeding apace.
2 MRT lines may miss deadline
The metro rail authorities are likely to miss the 2030 deadline for completing two of the six planned metro lines in Dhaka as they have not yet started carrying out feasibility studies for the two lines.
2 MRT lines may miss deadline
Feasibility studies for MRT-2 and 4 yet to start
The metro rail authorities are likely to miss the 2030 deadline for completing two of the six planned metro lines in Dhaka as they have not yet started carrying out feasibility studies for the two lines.
With the consultants already hired, the authorities are set to start conducting the feasibility study for Mass Rapid Transit Line-4. But the progress of the MRT Line-2 project is disappointing as the financier for the feasibility study has not yet been found, let alone hiring a consultant for the work, officials concerned said.
Once the feasibility studies are done and financiers are found, the authorities will have to go through a long process -- preparing a project proposal, having it approved, acquiring land, preparing a detailed design, and floating tenders to hire contractors, they said.
To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.
Feasibility studies for MRT-2 and 4 yet to start
The metro rail authorities are likely to miss the 2030 deadline for completing two of the six planned metro lines in Dhaka as they have not yet started carrying out feasibility studies for the two lines.
With the consultants already hired, the authorities are set to start conducting the feasibility study for Mass Rapid Transit Line-4. But the progress of the MRT Line-2 project is disappointing as the financier for the feasibility study has not yet been found, let alone hiring a consultant for the work, officials concerned said.
Once the feasibility studies are done and financiers are found, the authorities will have to go through a long process -- preparing a project proposal, having it approved, acquiring land, preparing a detailed design, and floating tenders to hire contractors, they said.
To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.
Dhaka's transport turmoil
The manoeuvring and manipulation of the public transport system remains a perennial source of pain and suffering for commuters and non-commuters alike. PHOTO: PRABIR DAS
Dhaka is the world's rickshaw capital. It is also arguably the mobile museum of broken buses. For a city that aspires to be smart, paddle rickshaws and rickety buses past their recyclable years seem to be an anathema. Yet, they reign in scandalous glory. To exacerbate the situation, the city has incorporated indigenous innovations to power the paddle rickshaws and disregarded the laws pertaining to dilapidated buses. The manoeuvring and manipulation of the public transport system remains a perennial source of pain and suffering for commuters and non-commuters alike.
To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.
The manoeuvring and manipulation of the public transport system remains a perennial source of pain and suffering for commuters and non-commuters alike. PHOTO: PRABIR DAS
Dhaka is the world's rickshaw capital. It is also arguably the mobile museum of broken buses. For a city that aspires to be smart, paddle rickshaws and rickety buses past their recyclable years seem to be an anathema. Yet, they reign in scandalous glory. To exacerbate the situation, the city has incorporated indigenous innovations to power the paddle rickshaws and disregarded the laws pertaining to dilapidated buses. The manoeuvring and manipulation of the public transport system remains a perennial source of pain and suffering for commuters and non-commuters alike.
To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.
Modern Electric Rickshaws taking over on side streets in larger towns in Bangladesh
Speed guns used by Metro Police on Purbachal Expressway
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)Line 3 construction update 5/26/2024. BRT runs from Dhaka Int'l Airport to Gazipur North of Dhaka. They are planning to inaugurate the service with Electric buses but no use raising our hopes until we see this for real.
Bangabandhu tunnel: Expenditure much higher than income
According to the bridge division, over 4,500 vehicles have used the tunnel every day on average so far. It was predicted that at least four times that number of vehicles would use the tunnel. Daily average income from the toll of the tunnel is Tk 11,80,000 taka. On the other hand, the average...
en.prothomalo.com
Bangabandhu tunnel: Expenditure much higher than income
Anwar Hossain & Sujan GhoseDhaka and Chattogram
Published: 28 May 2024, 08: 44
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel in ChattogramFile photo
The tunnel built under the Karnaphuli River in Chattogram is not getting as much traffic as expected yet resulting in less than expected toll collection. As of now, the revenue generated from the tunnel is much less than maintenance costs and toll collection.
According to the bridge division, over 4,500 vehicles have used the tunnel every day on average so far. It was predicted that at least four times that number of vehicles would use the tunnel. Daily average income from the toll of the tunnel is Tk 11,80,000 taka. On the other hand, the average daily expenditure for collection and maintenance of this toll is Tk 3.75 million.
The main length of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel built under the Karnaphuli river is 3.32 km. It is the first under-river tunnel in the country. The tunnel was built with Chinese loans and Bangladesh government funding.
Sources from Bangladesh Bridges Authority said paying the installments of loan taken from China would start from this year. As the income is less than expected, maintenance cost would have to be paid from income generated from other bridges. As a result, the government will have to pay a subsidy from the revenue sector to pay the loan.
The tunnel has eased the commute as crossing the road now takes three to three and half minutes. However, economists , businessmen and bridges authority said the roads on the one side of the tunnel were not widened. The Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) has not taken much initiative to expand the city on the other side of Karnaphuli river. There should be industrialization centering the tunnel. The use of the tunnel could be increased once these initiatives are taken.
Bridges division's secretary Md Monjur Hossain told Prothom Alo that work to connect Cox's Bazar and Matarbari with the tunnel is going on. The use of the tunnel and income would increase if it can be connected with Cox's Bazar and Matarbari roads.
About the repayment of the installment of the Chinese loan, he said the matter is now under the finance ministry.
To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.
Anwar Hossain & Sujan GhoseDhaka and Chattogram
Published: 28 May 2024, 08: 44
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel in ChattogramFile photo
The tunnel built under the Karnaphuli River in Chattogram is not getting as much traffic as expected yet resulting in less than expected toll collection. As of now, the revenue generated from the tunnel is much less than maintenance costs and toll collection.
According to the bridge division, over 4,500 vehicles have used the tunnel every day on average so far. It was predicted that at least four times that number of vehicles would use the tunnel. Daily average income from the toll of the tunnel is Tk 11,80,000 taka. On the other hand, the average daily expenditure for collection and maintenance of this toll is Tk 3.75 million.
The main length of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel built under the Karnaphuli river is 3.32 km. It is the first under-river tunnel in the country. The tunnel was built with Chinese loans and Bangladesh government funding.
Sources from Bangladesh Bridges Authority said paying the installments of loan taken from China would start from this year. As the income is less than expected, maintenance cost would have to be paid from income generated from other bridges. As a result, the government will have to pay a subsidy from the revenue sector to pay the loan.
The tunnel has eased the commute as crossing the road now takes three to three and half minutes. However, economists , businessmen and bridges authority said the roads on the one side of the tunnel were not widened. The Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) has not taken much initiative to expand the city on the other side of Karnaphuli river. There should be industrialization centering the tunnel. The use of the tunnel could be increased once these initiatives are taken.
Bridges division's secretary Md Monjur Hossain told Prothom Alo that work to connect Cox's Bazar and Matarbari with the tunnel is going on. The use of the tunnel and income would increase if it can be connected with Cox's Bazar and Matarbari roads.
About the repayment of the installment of the Chinese loan, he said the matter is now under the finance ministry.
To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.
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