Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the construction work of the country's first underground metro rail on February 2.

MAN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), said they have completed the preparations for the inauguration of the country’s first underground metro line, MRT Line-1.

The PM will inaugurate the depot of the MRT Line-1 in the Pitalganj area of Rupganj upazila.

“As part of the MRT Line-1 plan, the first rail depot will be constructed at Pitalganj area in Narayanganj,” he said. 

Hasina will inaugurate the construction work at an empty plot beside Janata High School.

ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, Secretary of the Road Transport and Highways Division, told UNB that Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) will implement the mega project by 2026.

Read: Chattogram also to have metro rail service: Quader

The underground metro line will have two parts: around 19.87 kilometres from Dhaka airport, which includes 16.4 kilometres underground, and around 11.36 kilometres that is elevated from Notun Bazar to Purbachal, he said.

It will take 24 minutes to travel from Dhaka airport to Kamalapur, with breaks at 12 underground stations along the route, and 20 minutes to travel from Notun Bazar to Purbachal, with breaks at seven stations.

The secretary also said that after MRT Line 1 is launched, this route will allow 8 lakh passengers to travel.

MRT Line-1 underground stations will have three floors. The ticket counter and other facilities will be located on the first basement level.

The platform will be on the second level. The ticket counter and platform for the elevated station will be on the third floor. Both the elevated and underground stations will have lifts, stairs and escalators.

The DMTCL signed contracts with Japan's Tokyo Construction Company Limited and Bangladesh’s Max Infrastructure Limited for the project. The project will be implemented in 12 packages.

An agreement was signed with a consulting firm on October 23, 2012, to supervise the construction of MRT Line 1. Another agreement was signed for package CP-1, related to the construction of the depot, on November 23, 2022.

A total of 12.9725 acres of land in Pitalganj and Brahmankhali Mauza of Rupganj Upazila of Narayanganj have been acquired for the construction of the depot and depot access corridor of MRT-1. TK140 crore were given as compensation to the victims.