The metro rail company will seek cooperation from Japan in easing travel restrictions on Japanese contractors and consultants in Bangladesh to help continue its billion-dollar projects.
As Japan imposed travel ban on Bangladesh, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) has been facing difficulties in carrying out metro rail projects even after resuming work of both field level and study last month.
"We will seek the Japanese government's special favour to lift travel restrictions on our projects' contractors and consultants as their absence has already slowed down metro rail construction work," said Managing Director MAN Siddique.
He said a letter in this regard has already been sent to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges to forward it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for taking necessary steps. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is yet to receive the letter.
The DMTCL has already taken a move to hire chartered plane to bring back nearly 30 Thai engineers and workers working for the Mass Rapid Transit line (MRT-6) project. Among four MRT projects under DMTCL, only this project is at construction stage.
Italian Thai-Development Public Limited is the contractor of the 1st 10-kilometre elevated structure of MRT-6 being constructed from Uttara to Motijheel. Under two packages - CP 3 and 4, the Thai company is responsible to construct the line from Uttara to Agargaon.
As the rest 10-km track of MRT 6 is being constructed by two Japanese companies under two other packages (CP 5 and 6), their absence has impacted the project's progress as a whole.
smunima@yahoo.com
