Bangladesh’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project is poised for its fourth major revision, with a substantial increase in both cost and timeline due to flawed planning, poor contractor selection, and lack of coordinated oversight since its inception.
Initially launched in 2012 under the Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Project, the BRT corridor stretches 20 kilometers from Gazipur to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. However, after 12 years, the project remains incomplete, with 3–5 percent of civil work still unfinished and no operational bus services in place.
The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has proposed a four-year extension to complete the remaining work and operationalize the corridor. The project, originally approved at a cost of Tk 20.38 billion, has already ballooned to Tk 42.86 billion.
Officials now estimate that an additional Tk 29 billion will be required, taking the total cost to over Tk 70 billion.
A senior RHD official confirmed the revised estimate is still in its early stages. Of the proposed additional cost, €100 million will be funded by the French Development Agency (AFD).
Around Tk 9 billion is earmarked for further land acquisition, including regularising a leased depot site from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission and identifying a new depot location near Dhaka airport.
Delays have been attributed to Chinese contractors China Gezhouba Group Corporation and Jiangsu Provincial Transportation Engineering Group Co Ltd, who were awarded contracts below engineering estimates in compliance with public procurement rules. Officials also cited disruptions caused by student protests in 2024.
The revised Development Project Proposal (DPP) now includes previously overlooked components such as bus operation, maintenance facilities, procurement of 187 buses, and an intelligent transportation system (ITS). Scope has also been created for the future deployment of electric buses.
Senior Secretary of the Road Transport and Highways Division Mohammad Ehsanul Hoque stated that given the investments made, the government has no choice but to complete the project.
The fourth DPP revision was submitted just before the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays and awaits review. The project, initially intended to follow the airport-to-Sayedabad corridor outlined in the Strategic Transport Plan, was prioritised over that segment, which was later shelved.
The BRT project is being implemented primarily by the RHD, with involvement from the Bangladesh Bridge Authority and the Local Government Engineering Department for elevated structures and depot land development.
