The government is preparing a master plan to construct metro rail in Chattogram metropolitan area to ease transportation and reduce traffic congestion.

In this regard, the Road Transport and Highways Division has taken up a Tk 70.63 crore project titled ‘Transport Master and Preliminary Feasibility Study for Urban Metro Rail Transit Construction of Chattogram Metropolitan Area (CMA)” and it has been approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), said a planning ministry official.

Dhaka Transport Co-ordination Authority (DTCA) will implement the project by March 2025, he said.

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) would provide Tk 57 crore ($6 million) in grant to conduct the feasibility study while the rest of the money would come from the government exchequer, said a senior official of the Economic Relations Division (ERD).

The ERD and KOICA on Thursday signed a Record of Discussion (RoD) and a Terms of Reference (ToR) along with a $6 million grant agreement at the division’s office in the capital, he said.

The project aims to contribute to sustainable economic development by providing high-quality public transport services and pedestrian facilities, officials said. Under the feasibility study, KOICA will create a preliminary concept design for the metro rail construction by reviewing the status of traffic on the targeted metro lines in the Chattogram metropolitan area, ERD officials said.

They said it would also conduct technical surveys at the site area, estimate costs, do economic and financial analyses, plan funding, and assess environmental and social impacts.

Besides, KOICA will survey the current traffic situation and the future scenario, create travel demand modelling, and update the transport system database. The project will also enhance the institutional capacity of different agencies of the Chattogram transport service system to reduce traffic congestion and improve eco-friendly urban metro systems, according to the proposal.

After completion of the master plan, different projects will be taken up for improving the transport system in Chattogram metropolitan area with Korean assistance, the proposal also said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in January this year issued a directive at an ECNEC meeting, asking the authorities concerned to build the metro rail from the Shah Amanat International Airport to the Chattogram Railway Station.

Chattogram is going to have metro rail as the second city in the country after Dhaka, where the service is due to be launched this month.