Bangladesh approves mostly underground Dhaka metro Line 5 South

What happened

ECNEC is Bangladesh's top body for approving large public projects. At a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and reported on 16 September 2026, it approved three metro rail projects with a combined cost of about Tk 2.5 lakh crore. One crore is ten million, and one lakh crore is a million million. The new project is the Southern Route of MRT Line 5, which will run east to west across the city from Gabtoli to Dasherkandi.

The approved cost is about Tk 45,504 crore. Of this, about Tk 30,306 crore will come as loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and South Korea's Economic Development Cooperation Fund. The Bangladesh government will provide about Tk 15,198 crore. The Daily Star reported earlier that the estimate had come down from Tk 54,619 crore in April 2024, and that resettlement of affected people is expected to cost about Tk 4,716 crore.

The same meeting approved revised costs for two older lines first approved in 2019. MRT Line 1, from the airport to Kamalapur, rose from about Tk 52,561 crore to about Tk 114,395 crore. Line 5 North, from Hemayetpur to Bhatara, rose from about Tk 41,239 crore to about Tk 89,848 crore. Both increases were close to 118 percent. Both lines are funded mainly by loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Line 5 South is one part of a larger plan. The Daily Star reported that Dhaka plans a network of five metro lines, expected to serve about 5 million commuters. Only MRT Line 6, from Uttara North to Motijheel, is running today, and its extension to Kamalapur is under construction. A 36 km Line 2 from Gabtoli to Narayanganj is also planned. The paper described Line 5 South as the first metro project to be approved by the current government.

The engineering behind it

According to The Daily Star, the line will have 15 stations, 11 underground and 4 elevated. It will run underground from Gabtoli to Aftabnagar and then rise onto a viaduct to Dasherkandi. Stops along the route include Kalyanpur, Shyamoli, Asad Gate, Karwan Bazar, Hatirjheel and Tejgaon. The paper reported 19 trains at the start, each with six air-conditioned coaches and room for up to 1,908 passengers. An end-to-end trip is planned to take 28 minutes, with a train every four and a half minutes.

Underground metro in a crowded city usually combines two methods. The running tunnels between stations are often dug by tunnel boring machines, which cut a round tunnel and line it with precast concrete rings as they advance. Stations are often built by cut-and-cover. Engineers first build retaining walls into the ground, then dig out the box between them, build the station, and cover it again. The reports do not say which methods Line 5 South will use, so this is a general description.

Soft, wet ground makes this work harder. When the water table is high, engineers must control groundwater so that the excavation stays stable and does not draw water and soil from under nearby buildings. Settlement of the ground above a tunnel has to be predicted, monitored and kept within limits. Utilities such as water pipes, drains and cables must be moved before digging. In a dense city, each of these steps needs careful design and close checking on site.

The cost revisions on Line 1 show how design details change the budget. UNB reported reasons including delays during Covid-19, the complexity of the country's first underground metro, larger stations, moved entrances and ventilation shafts, a three-storey station at Rajarbagh, and about 20 km of temporary roads for construction traffic. Each of these is an engineering decision that adds concrete, land, time and labour.

What it means in Nepal

The sources say nothing about Nepal, so this section is about the type of work rather than any Nepali project. Dhaka's metro shows that underground transport in South Asian cities is now being planned and built on a large scale. That work needs engineers who understand soil, groundwater and the effect of digging on the buildings around it. It also needs engineers who can plan a project that will take seven years and pass through many official reviews.

The cost story is a lesson for every student of construction management. Two lines approved in 2019 now cost more than twice their first estimates, and their completion dates have moved by several years. The Daily Star reported that contractors had been hired for only one package each on those lines. Early estimates made before detailed design and ground investigation are often far from the final figure. Engineers who prepare estimates must state their assumptions and the risks clearly.

Lenders also shape the work. The ADB funded the early studies for Line 5 South, including design, tender support, land acquisition planning and a resettlement plan. On loan-funded projects, engineers work within lender rules for procurement, safeguards and reporting, as well as national law. Knowing how to prepare and defend a cost estimate, and how to plan resettlement fairly, is part of delivering such projects.