Bangladesh seeks Korean finance worth $5.27 Billion for its 1st subway

[Black_cats]

Bangladesh seeks Korean finance worth $5.27 Billion for its 1st subway
Shohel Mamun

• Published at 08:12 pm November 14th, 2020

Subway Collected

• Bangladesh invites Korea to invest in subway project
• Total subway length 238km
• 60,000 passengers may commute per hour

The subway system will run alongside the MRT project being implemented by DMTCL
The Bangladesh Bridge Authority plans to build an 11-tunnel subway network in Dhaka to ensure smooth commutes across the city.

The subway system will run alongside the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) being set up by the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL).

Funding for the subway project is expected to come from the Korean government through public-private partnership (PPP).

On Saturday, the Bridge Authority presented the Tongi-Sadarghat Subway line proposal to Korean investors at the 3rd Bangladesh-Korea Joint PPP Platform Meeting. The PPP Authority of Bangladesh and Korea Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation (KIND) co-hosted the virtual meeting.

Kim Hyan-mee, minister of South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MoLIT), and Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, attended the meeting.

Kim Hyan-mee reiterated her government’s commitment to supporting Bangladesh on the path to becoming a developed country.

“We plan to build a subway network in Dhaka and the Tongi-Sadarghat subway line is a part of it. We expect KIND to invest in the project,” said Bridge Division Secretary Mohammed Belayet Hossain.

He also told Dhaka Tribune the subway had been designed so that it would not conflict with the MRT line.

“We have already held a couple of meetings with the DMTCL to remove any confusion over the two networks,” Belayet said.

11 routes in a web

The Bridge Authority is currently conducting a feasibility study regarding 11 routes that would be spread out across Dhaka in a web pattern.

On Saturday, Bridge Authority senior official Abul Hossain said the length of the first subway channel between Tongi and Sadarghat, through Mohakhali and Malibagh, was 28.32km as per plan. The route will include 24 subway stations.

A further 24 subway stations will be set up on a 26.29km route from Tongi to Jhilmil via Gulshan.

A total of 16 stations will be on a 27.62km route from Gabtoli to Purbachal via Mirpur and Kuril.

An 18.17km route from Basila to Mohakhali through Kayetpara will have 15 stations.

A 13km subway route will be constructed from Hazaribagh to Rajarbagh with 12 stations, and a 13.5km route from Kamrangirchar to New Market will have 12 stations.

Altogether 13 stations are planned on an 18km route from Basila to Malibagh, and the same number of stations will be on a 16.5km route from Gabtoli-Hazaribagh to Shatmasjith Road. A 28.6km from Gabtoli-Badda to Purbachal will have 12 stations.

A 19.11km long route from Keraniganj-Saidabath to Kanchpur will have 16 stations, and the 30km Jagannath University-Matuail-Narayanganj route, a 30km subway route, will have just 9 stations.

Benefits

According to the Bridge Authority, a subway system will significantly reduce the pressure of traffic on Dhaka roads. Where 100 buses can carry 10,000 passengers per hour, the subway will be able to transport 60,000 passengers per hour.

Although the potential economic life of a flyover is 50-65 years, the lifespan of a subway is about 100-125 years, officials of the Bridge Authority added.

Bridge Division Secretary Belayet Hossain said: “Sophisticated tunnel boring machines will be used to dig tunnels in the construction of the subways, so there should be very little suffering during construction.”

The Bridge Authority had initially decided to build a 90-km subway in Dhaka. The authority received approval from the public purchase committee last year.

After a successful meeting with DMTCL, the Bridge Authority decided to expand the network. Now the subway is expected to be 238km.

On March 4, 2020, the cabinet committee on public purchase approved a proposal on the subway project. The committee also approved the appointment of a consultant firm for feasibility study and design.

According to the Bridge Authority, the Spanish firm Technica will conduct the feasibility study, while the primary design will cost Tk317.94crore. The feasibility study will be completed by June 2021.

The subway is to be constructed at a depth of 20-25 meters, as in Osaka, Japan.

The feasibility study will be followed by design, land acquisition plan and financial analysis.

Subsequently, the mega project will be taken to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges.
Other projects under PPP with Korea:

The Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) has showcased the 1.68km long Meghna Bridge Project, involving the construction of a four-lane bridge over Meghna river on the Bhulta to Aaraihazar to Bancharampur Road, which will serve as an alternative to the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway and Dhaka-Sylhet highway. KIND appreciated the project, and it may move forward under the government-to-government partnership program.

From its end, Korea proposed the Purbachal Town Electricity Network project for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh and Korea at the meeting renewed their pledge to work together in swiftly and effectively implementing infrastructure projects through Public Private Partnership (PPP), as Bangladesh continues its journey to becoming a developed country.

The webinar was attended by Dr Ahmad Kaikaus, principal secretary to the prime minister, Sultana Afroz, secretary and CEO of PPPA, Kyong-goo Hur, president and CEO of KIND, Lee Jang Keun, ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Bangladesh, Abida Islam, ambassador of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to the Republic of Korea, senior government officials, private investors, representatives of KIND and PPPA, among others.

Dr Ahmad Kaikaus insisted on launching at least one PPP Project to mark the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He also stressed the importance of widening the lens and encouraging Korean private investors to build partnerships with the government as well as with private Bangladeshi investors.

Bangladesh seeks Korean finance for its 1st subway

• Bangladesh invites Korea to invest in subway project• Total subway length 238km• 60,000 passengers may commute per hourThe subway system will run alongside the MRT project being implemented by DMTCL

www.dhakatribune.com

 

[Michael Corleone]

without investment in sewage... good luck keeping the subway from flooding

 

[mb444]

I am all for infrastructural development. A tube system is a good idea. But i suspect it will cost a lot more. Progress is needed and hope this pans out.

 

[Bilal9]

Guys some explanations...

Cut and Cover Method of Building a Subway
Older subway systems, such as those found in Toronto and New York, were built with a method known as "cut and cover". In "cut and cover" tunneling, the pavement of the street is removed, a hole for the subway and stations is dug, and then the street is restored. The "cut and cover" method is much cheaper than "deep bore" but the alignment is restricted to the street grid. "Cut and cover" also results in the stations that are much closer to the surface (as little as twenty feet below the surface), which significantly reduces passenger access time. On the other hand, "cut and cover" results in serious disruption to traffic along the street for a significant amount of time; this disruption usually results in negative effects, especially for store owners along the corridor.


Deep Bore Method of Building a Subway
In "deep bore" tunneling, boring machines are inserted into a hole dug at a convenient spot along the proposed line and then proceed through the earth little by little, up to eighty feet per day, until they have carved out space along the entire corridor. These boring machines are huge. The world's largest is fifty feet in diameter. Boring machines generally can excavate only in one fixed shape, which is generally circular. Because these machines do not have to follow the existing street grid, they allow for much greater flexibility in route design.

In addition, there is no disruption to life along the surface. Except at the machine insertion points, you would not even know a subway was being built. In exchange for these advantages are two major disadvantages. One is financial: "deep bore" construction costs significantly more than "cut and cover"; the underground stations alone can cost $150 million. Because of a large number of variables that make up the cost of subway construction, it is extremely difficult to quantify the cost differential between the two methods. The second is access: passenger access to "deep bore" stations is significantly more difficult than "cut and cover" stations, making the subway much less useful for relatively short trips.

Often, the nature of the soil conditions and existing underground construction dictate one of the above strategies. In terms of the soil conditions, the height of the water table and softness or hardness of rock may mandate tunneling at a particular depth. In terms of existing underground construction, the presence of a large number of tunnels, basements, utility lines, and pipes may make "cut and cover" construction impossible to attempt.


How Subway Construction Method Is Decided
The nature of a particular metropolitan area's rapid transit growth strategy can also suggest one or the other methods. Because the initial cost of constructing and lowering the tunnel boring machine into the ground is so great, it seems as though the "deep bore" method is conducive to the one-line-at-a-time-but-continual-expansion approach. Building several "deep bore" lines simultaneously requires several of the expensive machines, and a boring machine is a very expensive capital investment to leave idle. On the other hand, the "cut and cover" method seems like it would fit well with a major expansion plan involving several lines, as it is relatively easy to do and at least some of the political impacts may be ameliorated if the disruption can be limited in time but not in scope.

Because of the negative community sentiment that often accompanies "cut and cover" construction, almost all new subway construction is done using the "deep bore" method. One exception was Vancouver B.C.'s recently opened Canada Line and proves to be an excellent example of problems caused by the disruptive nature of the "cut and cover" method. One merchant has already won a lawsuit for C$600,000 - since overturned on appeal - due to damages caused by construction disruption, and 41 additional plaintiffs filed suit last year to recover damages. Interestingly, the amount of money they wish to receive is equal to the savings realized by building the line using the "cut and cover" method instead of the "deep bore".

It is likely that uproar over the temporary disruptions that accompany "cut and cover" construction will mean that almost all subway construction in the future, at least in the United States and Canada, will be of the "deep bore" variety, with the exception that soil conditions may mandate "cut and cover" construction. This result is too bad, as the cheaper nature of "cut and cover" construction could allow more proposed lines to be grade separated, which would allow for higher speeds and probably higher ridership. "Cut and cover" construction would also allow for more stations, which would make it easier to stop operating bus service along the rail corridor instead of operating duplicative bus service the hours could be redeployed to routes intersecting the rail line and make it easier for people who do not live within walking distance of a station to access the line.

 

[saif]

The government needs to build a 3D communication network in Dhaka to eliminate traffic congestion and air pollution. An underground rail system (subway) will help increase economic benefits by reducing time and cost to travel.

 

[bluesky]

Bangladesh seeks Korean finance worth $5.27 Billion for its 1st subway

Bloody, another gossip news produced by the bureaucrats of the country on order by H.E Hasina Bibi.

Every week, this govt publishes three or four baseless news like this. I think, Hasina is a regular member of PDF and she amuses at the reaction of her countrymen here on these futuristic plans.

Next week, I expect one or two such news. Only last week I read here a news on $11.0 billion Dhaka-Chittagong Bullet train when this country is unable even to doubletrack this route.

People should do proper math to know how much is the price tag of 11,000 million US dollar.

without investment in sewage... good luck keeping the subway from flooding

However, you can now dream "No waterlogging" because the water on the roads will go underground subway channels. You can ask BD govt to send also the sewage to these subway channels.

Instead of talking surreal subway project, the GoB should find solution to the ongoing issues like sewage disposal and waterlogging.

All that glitters in the govt statement is not gold.

 

[Bilal9]

The government needs to build a 3D communication network in Dhaka to eliminate traffic congestion and air pollution. An underground rail system (subway) will help increase economic benefits by reducing time and cost to travel.

The utility, communication networks and underground subway can be built together, in one go. They should think about that, if they haven't, but that'd mean lost future chance for more chori...