After a hiccup over a partial change in the route, the $1.7 billion metro rail project has gained momentum as its major financier Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) is set to start loan negotiations with the government next month.
Experts will begin an exercise next month to prepare a detailed design for the project. It will be completed before signing of the loan agreement in December, Jica officials in Dhaka said.
A three-member team of Jica visited the capital recently to see the progress of the project and prepare grounds for loan negotiations. They held meetings with the officials of communications ministry and External Resources Division.
The Japanese governmental agency is ready to finance 80 percent of the project cost as soft loan to construct the metro rail, considered the most viable option for transporting thousands of passengers in a densely populated city like Dhaka.
The mass transport will carry some 60,000 passengers in an hour during peak time, found a Jica study. It also estimated $12 million for each kilometre of the elevated part while $48 million for the underground segment.
