MRT Line 1 (Dhaka Metro)

In 2005, the World Bank published a study report, recommending that the government of Bangladesh build a mass transit system in Dhaka. In the same year, American consultancy firm Louis Berger Group prepared a strategic transport plan for Dhaka.[1] The World Bank helped to develop this plan, which proposed the construction of five MRT lines in Dhaka.[2] The five metro lines were MRT Line 1, MRT Line 2, MRT Line 4, MRT Line 5 and MRT Line 6. The budget for MRT Line 1 was set at ৳52,561.43 crore of which Japan International Cooperation Agency agreed to finance 75%. Construction of the line is targeted for December 2026.[3] In 2019, the government finalized the construction project of the line.[4] But with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, progress on the line's project stalled.[5] On 15 June 2022, the license of MRT Line 1 was handed over to DMTCL by the Road Transport and Highways Division.[6] On 23 October 2022, the government signed an agreement with Nippon Koei Bangladesh Limited to join the company as a consultant for MRT Line 1.[7] In the same year, the government entered into an agreement with Tokyo Construction and Max Infrastructure for the land development work of the only depot of the proposed project at Pitalganj.[4] On 28 December 2022, the day of the inauguration of MRT Line 6, the secretary of the Road Transport and Highways Department said that the construction of the project is possible to start in the first month of 2023 subject to the approval of the prime minister.[8] Its construction was initially scheduled to begin on 26 January 2023, but was moved to 2 February.[9] Finally, the construction of the MRT Line 1 project was inaugurated by Sheikh Hasina in 2 February.[10]

MRT Line 1 will have seven stations on Purbachal Expressway which will be on elevated line. Before construction began, it was known that the expressway might be damaged during the construction of the stations. MM Ehsan Jamil, director of the expressway construction project, claimed that he had demanded the metro authority to construct seven stations in Purbachal section underground. But it became impossible as the construction contract with JICA was done before that. Therefore, he suggested to start the work on the eastern part of MRT Line 1 with the construction of the expressway earlier to avoid damage to the expressway, but it could not be done due to various issues. Later, 4 meters space was left in the median strip of the expressway for the construction of the metro.[12] Later the secretary of Road Transport and Highways Division assured that the construction of the line would be done in a coordinated manner so as not to cause major damage to the expressway. He also informed that the pillar of the line will be built on the median strip and the two columns of the station will be built on the green space on both sides of the expressway so that no space on the road will be used.[13]

• "ঢাকার নরম মাটি ও ভূমিকম্পের ঝুঁকিসহ পাতাল রেলের যত চ্যালেঞ্জ" [Dhaka's soft soil and the challenges of the subway, including the risk of earthquakes]. BBC Bangla (in Bengali). 3 February 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.

• MRT Line 1 on the official website of Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (in Bengali)