CHATTOGRAM, Oct 31: The country's first monorail is set to be built in the port city of Chattogram in an effort to ease the city's chronic traffic congestion.
To this end, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) and Orascom Group and Arab Contractors Group-a joint venture of German and Egyptian companies-on June 1 this year.
Following the MoU signing, Orascom and Arab Contractors have already begun a pre-feasibility study to prepare an inception report.
"The pre-feasibility study is expected to be completed within the current year," said A.S.M. Tayib, Superintending Engineer of the CCC. "After that, the feasibility study will begin and is expected to be completed within nine months."
The project
implementation
will commence
by the end of 2026
He expressed hope that the project's implementation would commence by the end of 2026. A monorail is a modern rail system that is about 40 percent more cost-effective than a metro rail. It requires less land and can be built using existing infrastructure.
The system runs on a single rail. The feasibility study will be conducted at a cost of Tk 1 billion. The total project cost is estimated at around Tk 300 billion, with construction expected to take up to four years. The update was shared at a recent coordination meeting in the city reviewing the progress of the study.
Four potential routes for the monorail have been identified: Route 1: Kalurghat to Shah Amanat International Airport via Bahaddarhat, Chawk Bazar, Lalkhan Bazar, Dewanhat, and Patenga - 26.5 km; Route 2: City Gate to Shaheed Bashiruzzaman Chattar via A.K. Khan, Nimtala, Sadarghat, and Firingi Bazar - 13.5 km; Route 3: Oxygen to Firingi Bazar via Muradpur, Panchlaish, Anderkilla, and Kotwali - 14.5 km; Route 4: City Gate to Nimtala via Port Connecting Road and Agrabad Access Road - 10.9 km.
Once implemented, the project is expected to save valuable working hours, ease traffic congestion, and make the city's economy more dynamic.
The CCC is extending full support to the initiative as part of its plan to transform Chattogram into a smart and environmentally friendly city. According to CCC sources, once operational, Orascom will pay the city corporation at least Tk 5 per passenger as a profit share. Initially, the consortium will operate the system for 20 to 25 years before handing it over to the CCC.
The project will follow a Public-Private Ownership Transfer (PPOT) model and is estimated to cost around Tk 300 billion (Tk 30,000 crore). The central station and maintenance facilities will require about 50 acres of land, while daily operations will need 30 to 35 MW of electricity.
The monorail system aims to provide residents with a safe, convenient, punctual, and comfortable mode of transport-ultimately reducing congestion, saving time, and boosting productivity.
