A controversial flyover

THE final draft of the revised strategic transport plan (RSTP) has been drawn up. It is a multi-layer plan for the next 20 years and it will require multi-billion dollar investments. From what has been published in the media, the investment portfolio for RSTP will require Tk 2,600 billion to develop the seven mass transit systems and expand road network up to 1,200 km; the city could stand to save Tk 0.5 billion a day from an improved traffic management system, the lack of which costs Dhaka Tk 194 billion per year.

The Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) is the authority that is overseeing the strategic plan and its implementation, which is receiving technical support from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). While there are a great many benefits the capital city would get from the proper implementation of the revised RSTP, there appears to be trouble brewing. Going by what has been printed in a leading English daily on November 11, we understand that DTCA has approved construction of a new flyover from Rajuk's Jhilmil project to Shantinagar crossing. 

This plan is in contradiction to the revised RSTP. Indeed, if we are to take what has been published in the report at face value, the proposed project will create more problems than it will solve. The construction of the new 13 km flyover will cause damage to the existing road networks by taking away major portions of land. It's proposed route will come into conflict with the route selected for metro rail transport MRT-6 at Paltan crossing and the gap between the new flyover will be situated a mere 200 metres from the ramp of the Malibagh-Mouchak flyover that is in advance stages of construction. The JICA team has apparently proposed that the new flyover, if it is constructed, should be diverted from the Babubazar area towards Postogola so that it may link-up with the Dhaka Elevated Expressway at Kamlapur railway station.

Minister for Road, Transport and Bridge Obaidul Quader stated in late October that the physical work for the Metrorail project would be started in February and from his statement that "we already floated six tenders out of eight packages to build the communication line from Uttara third phase to Motijheel Shapla Chattar", it is clear that Metrorail-6 is a major component in RSTP. It was further mentioned that necessary amendment to the Strategic Transport Plan (STP) was now at its final stage to the get the ball rolling in the right direction. His sentiments were echoed by JICA's chief representative during the workshop titled "The Workshop on the Revision and Updating of the Strategic Transport Plan" that was jointly organised by DTCA and JICA at the end of October where he stressed that DTCA would play "its mandated role to provide effective coordination among different agencies and stakeholders for implementation of various urban-transport projects."

The revised plan will introduce five MRT lines and two bus rapid transport (BRT) lines. The plan envisages six expressways, three ring roads and eight radial roads and includes the projects: Dhaka Elevated Expressway, Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway, Dhaka Chittagong Expressway, Dhaka Sylhet Expresway, Dhaka-Mawa Expressway and Dhaka Mymensingh Expressway. If we understand it correctly, the revised RSTP is the product of extensive exchange of views among multi-stakeholder groups. And various scenarios have been taken into consideration that will help promote an efficient urban-transportation development plan for Dhaka city up to 2035. This brings us back to the question of the construction of a flyover that was not in the lead up to the RSTP plan and has been adopted in contravention to DTCA's own plan of action for road transportation development up to 2035. 

The revised RSTP has been many years in the making. The inclusion of a project that has no part in the extensive network of roads-and-rail plan makes us wonder why it has been approved in the first place. From the looks of it the decision to go for this controversial flyover has been made on political grounds and not technical ones. But the bigger question we would like to ask is whether we are ready to jeopardise the strategic road transport plan for the next two decades to include a lone flyover that could derail major portions of the RSTP. If that is the case, then there is nothing more to be said.

The writer is Assistant Editor, The Daily Star.