Bangladesh: Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Project - Additional Financing

Transport / Urban public transport

Bangladesh was ranked 146th out of 187 countries in the 2011 United Nations Human Development Index, and Dhaka is consistently ranked one of the world''s most unlivable cities in the Global Liveability Report. Traffic congestion and air pollution play a major role in these poor rankings. Greater Dhaka is one of the fastest-growing megacities in the world. An estimated 300,000-400,000 migrants, mostly poor from rural areas, arrive in the metropolitan area annually. Since 2000, its population has more than doubled and it is projected to grow from 17 million in 2012 to 25 million in 2025. Dhaka is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with 45,508 people per square kilometer in the core area. Such high density in a city with limited inhabitable land owing to the city's topography, limited infrastructure, and low level of public services results in tremendous congestion and constrains the UTS' ability to provide mobility for all people. Car ownership and usage are still low because of lack of disposable income, but these figures are increasing fast with a growing middle class. In 2010, only 150,000 private cars and 500,000 other motorized vehicles were registered in Dhaka, but 6070 additional cars were registered daily. With annual motorization growth of 8%, there could be up to half a million cars in 2025, increasing local air pollutants and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transport sector.

Without better planning and strategy, the metropolitan area will keep on sprawling north and south anarchically along the existing axis. The main issue for Dhaka's urban development lies in its fringes, where most of the urban sprawl and pauperization take place. Concepts like satellite cities, city clusters, and transit-oriented development have to be implemented to organize the urban growth and public spaces toward improved living conditions and climate change mitigation. To ensure a sustainable future for Dhaka, public transport focused on people''s mobility needs and accessibility has to be improved and given priority over simple road projects. International experience documents well that interventions that promote nonmotorized transport (NMT), a modal shift from private vehicles to public transport, and integration of land-use and transport planning also help lower GHG emissions in the long run. Investigations conducted as part of the project preparatory TA have shown that, out of six suburban corridors analyzed, the corridor connecting Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) (over 20% of its length) with the emerging GCC (over 80% of its length) has the best potential to organize urban development and support a mass transit infrastructure; and that BRT is the most cost-effective mass transit mode for the selected corridor.

A sustainable a urban transport system is developed in DNCC and GCC.

The public transport system is improved in DNCC and GCC.

Package -3: 3360 meter of road work has been completed.

Package -4 Bus Deport is completed and progress is 100%

1. Main urban transport corridor of DNCC and GCC restructured

2. Quality of the urban corridor along the GCC improved