Md Shamsul Hoque

Dr Md Shamsul Hoque, professor of civil engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), talks to Monorom Polok of The Daily Star about the maiden BRT line in Dhaka that opened last month.

Prof Md Shamsul Hoque talks about the practicality of undertaking megaprojects like the Karnaphuli tunnel with The Daily Star.

Look at cities like Kolkata and Jakarta, where metros were built at much lower costs and in less time.

The core problem lies in the fragmented ownership of public transport.

The Karnaphuli Tunnel, an ambitious project, seeks to enhance connectivity in the southeastern part of Bangladesh, bridging the gap between Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar. Approved in 2016, this underwater tunnel is designed to span the Karnaphuli River, aiming to reduce travel time and traffic congestion.

For future metro projects, a performance evaluation of the MRT-6 should be conducted.

While roads are being constructed on top of each other, no new streets are being created.

The Metro Rail project has to be used as a guideline for town-planning.