Experts and metro officials say the bearing pad that fell at Farmgate on Sunday does not appear to have failed due to wear. Instead, it may be the result of design or construction defects in the structure, corruption, financial theft and the recently heightened sabotage operations in the country. It is unlikely that it would simply slip out under normal load.
DGFI, the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, is the primary defense intelligence agency of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. Its main function is to collect and evaluate strategic intelligence, and it works alongside the National Security Intelligence (NSI) in providing intelligence assessments to the government. Founded in 1977, the DGFI handles various national security duties, including counter-terrorism, counter-espionage, and cyber warfare.
It seems that Hasina appointed Bangladesh’s DGFI, which is wholly aligned with Indian thugs who stole billions of dollars from Bangladesh. Bangladesh DGFI and NSI are two incompetent, corrupt and poorly trained organization that repeatedly failed Bangladesh’s national security.
The metro rail service from Uttara to Motijheel was started without a full safety audit by a third party. Afterwards, bearing pads came loose and fell on two separate occasions.
Sheikh Moinuddin, special assistant to the chief adviser in the Ministry of Road Transport and an expert on large projects, and Samsul Hoque, professor of civil engineering (structural engineering) at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), believe a full third-party safety audit is essential before launching a major project like the metro rail.
The first metro service from Uttara to Agargaon began on 28 December 2022. Passenger operations at all stations up to Motijheel started on the last day of 2023. Officials in the road transport ministry say the then-Awami League government hurried to launch the metro rail ahead of the 2024 election. Although trial runs had been carried out before allowing passengers, and various safety issues were examined, the rush to open remains a concern.
Normally bearing pads don’t have problems before 20 to 25 years. The occurrence of bearing pads coming off in Dhaka’s metro is not normal.
Sheikh Moinuddin, Special assistant to the chief adviser in the Ministry of Road Transport and an expert on large projects
Experts say a comprehensive third-party safety audit would have detected all faults. Since bearing pads have come off twice, a safety audit is now warranted. Bearing pads connect the metro viaduct or flyover to its pillars.
Sheikh Moinuddin told Prothom Alo, “Normally bearing pads don’t have problems before 20 to 25 years. The occurrence of bearing pads coming off in Dhaka’s metro is not normal. I hope the investigation will reveal the reason.”
“Before starting any project there is a rule to thoroughly check its quality and safety arrangements. That must be done by a third party. If that wasn’t done, it was wrong,” he added.
Sheikh Moinuddin also said, “Now we will form a separate team to inspect safety and quality of work and carry out necessary maintenance.”
The metro is a popular mass transit system in the capital. About 450,000 passengers use it daily. The issue of the metro’s safety resurfaced after a bearing pad came off at Farmgate station last Sunday, killing a young man named Abul Kalam. Earlier, on 18 September 2024 a bearing pad had come off at the same location; that earlier incident caused no casualties.
After the accident, metro services were suspended at about 12:30 pm on Sunday. Later the authorities resumed operations on other sections, leaving out the stretch from Agargaon to Shahbagh. Full service along the entire route resumed at about 11:00 am on Monday. The suspension caused heavy traffic congestion and widespread hardship across the city.
A bank officer, Atikur Rahman, who tried to board a bus in Agargaon yesterday morning, said, “I offered to pay extra fare but still couldn’t get a CNG [auto-rickshaw]. I was already late for the office.”
Hurriedly opened
The metro rail project was approved in 2012 at an estimated cost of Tk 219.8 billion (21,985 crore). However, the cost has reached Tk 335 billion (33,472 crore.) For the metro project, a loan of Tk 197 billion was taken from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Construction of roughly one kilometer of metro line has cost about Tk 15 billion (1500 crore) — far higher than neighboring countries and among the world’s highest per-kilometer costs.
DTCA officials say DMTCL has not submitted a single safety report since the metro began operations. DTCA had instructed appointing an independent third party to issue a safety certificate before starting operations, but that step has not yet been completed.
The overall system design, selection of contractors and construction supervision were the responsibility of the consultant consortium called NCDM Association, a coalition of several consulting firms. Its lead was Japan’s Nippon Koei. Others included Nippon Koei India, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, UK’s Mott MacDonald, Mott MacDonald India and Bangladesh’s Development Design Consultants. The team leader was Takauki Fujitomi from Japan.
During the July mass uprising, the deposed Awami League government ran major publicity around big projects such as the Padma Bridge, the metro rail and the Karnaphuli Tunnel.
A senior official of the metro authority, speaking to Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity, said political authorities hurried the project from the start. Most senior staff, including the managing director, lacked technical knowledge. Retired and serving public administration officers were leading the project, and they did not give much importance to safety. Moreover, asking questions of and holding contractors and consultants accountable was not given sufficient importance.
Not only was there no third-party safety audit, the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) also did not receive any report from the metro authority on safety matters.
Under the Metro Rail Act, 2015 and Metro Rail Rules, 2016, the metro operator is supposed to submit regular safety reports to DTCA and obtain technical and safety approvals.
DTCA officials say DMTCL has not submitted a single safety report since the metro began operations. DTCA had instructed appointing an independent third party to issue a safety certificate before starting operations, but that step has not yet been completed.
What the 2024 inquiry found
After the bearing pad incident in September 2024, the metro authority formed an investigation committee. Led by Abdul Baki Mia, director (planning & development) of the metro operating company, the 10-member committee included six internal officials and four representatives from consultant firms.
The committee’s report said daily train operations could cause displacement and contraction in the girders (the concrete structural elements of the metro). It recommended inspecting all bearings along the Uttara–Motijheel route, photographing them by drone and keeping records. It also recommended adding steel frames to hold the bearings in place.
DMTCL sources say all pillar bearings were inspected. No evidence of displacement was found at that time. However, drone photographs were not taken.
Adding steel frames involves additional expenditure, and a dispute has arisen over whether the contractor or the metro authority should pay for and carry out the work. The metro authority wrote to the consultant firm, but the issue was not resolved.
Plans for steel protective cages
Experts and metro officials say the bearing pad that fell at Farmgate on Sunday does not appear to have failed due to wear. Rather, it may be the result of design or construction defects in the structure. It is unlikely that it would simply slip out under normal load. Vibration from train movement, temperature changes and other technical causes may have induced structural displacements.
Meanwhile, a new pad was installed where the Farmgate bearing pad fell and two steel protective cages were placed there. The plan is to do this on all pillars. But who will carry out the work remains in question. The metro authority says the contractor should do it.
There are 620 pillars along the Uttara–Motijheel stretch. Under those pillars, there are 2,480 bearing pads. Each bearing pad is about 1.25 feet long and nearly 1.75 feet wide, with a thickness of about half a foot. Each weighs between 50 and 80 kilograms.
On Sunday the managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), Faruque Ahmed, sent letters to the project director and the consultant firm. The letters ordered compensation for the accident victims according to safety policy, and instructed that all bearing pads be inspected within the next five working days and any damaged pads be replaced.
The letter also demanded a safety assurance certificate guaranteeing no similar accidents in the future. Otherwise, the contractor and consultant would be held legally and financially liable for any future accidents.
DMTCL sources say seven letters have been sent since last June identifying structural issues and requesting remedies. Supervision of the contractor’s work is mainly the responsibility of the consultant firm and the project director’s office, so all those letters were addressed to the consultant and the project director.
DMTCL managing director Faruque Ahmed told Prothom Alo on Monday that an investigation committee has started working to determine why the bearing pad fell.
He further said that a decision had been taken to install steel protective cages to secure all bearing pads. He added that concrete encasements will be used at bearing pad locations on future metro lines so they cannot shift.
Six metro lines will be built in Dhaka. Line-6, from Uttara to Motijheel, has been constructed and is being extended to Kamalapur. Tender processes are underway for two more metro lines; two more are in the planning stage and one project proposal has been prepared.
Shafiqul Islam, a regular metro passenger who lives in Kazipara, told Prothom Alo that he feels some anxiety about riding the metro train after the accident, but he will not stop using it because there is no more convenient mass transit. He said the authorities should carry out a full safety audit to reassure the public.
Dhaka Metro Rail’s initial plan
The Awami League government had undertaken a plan to construct six metro rail lines in Dhaka by 2030. Of these, MRT Line-6 is currently in operation. MRT Line-1, MRT Line-5 (northern route), and MRT Line-5 (southern route) are under implementation. MRT Line-2 and MRT Line-4 are still in the preliminary stages.
According to sources at DMTCL, the total length of the six metro rail lines, comprising both elevated and underground sections, will be 128 kilometres. There will be 51 elevated stations and 53 underground stations. Several points along the network will interconnect different lines. Once fully operational, the combined lines will be able to transport 4.7 million passengers daily.
Professor Shamsul Hoque of the Department of Civil Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) told Prothom Alo that increased use of locally manufactured materials in metro rail construction would simplify maintenance.
Over time, the infrastructure will age and require more frequent maintenance. Importing parts repeatedly from abroad is both time-consuming and expensive. Increasing the use of local materials would not only reduce these challenges but also support local industries, he added.
Corruption and mismanagement in the Dhaka Metro Rail
A metro rail project costs just $40.77 million per kilometre in Patna city, compared with $166 million in Riyadh and $188 million in Dubai. In Dhaka, the cost of similar projects ranges between $226.74 million and $253.63 million per kilometre, five times the cost in India and much higher than in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
A recent analysis of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) finds metrorail projects in Bangladesh are among the highest in Asia. The state-owned company, which operates the country’s lone metrorail in Dhaka and envisages several other routes, is now examining why similar project costs are so high in Bangladesh and how to reduce it.
The project costs Tk33,472 crore ($6.1), averaging Tk1,574 crore per kilometre. With construction nearly complete, there is no scope for cost revision. According to Bangladeshi media, Sheikh Hasina and her Indian goons have stolen more than $3 billion from the project.
Two more metrorail projects – fully underground MRT Line-1 (projected at Tk53,977 crore) and MRT Line-5 (Northern Route, estimated at Tk41,238 crore) are now in the tendering phase. Jica is expected to finance these projects.
“These costs are more than double that of India,” DMTCL Managing Director Faruque Ahmed told The Business Standard. “Cities like Bengaluru rely on local expertise and materials, but even accounting for that, our cost shouldn’t be twice as high. Whether it’s 50% or 100% more can be debated – but it’s clearly excessive.”
Sheikh Hasina offered $12 billion projects to unqualified Indian companies.
India is supposed to provide over $7 billion in loans under three lines of credit (LoCs).
The first LoC worth $862 million for 15 projects was signed in 2010 while the second was signed in 2016 for $2 billion for 12 projects. A third credit deal was signed for $4.5 billion for 15 projects.
Overall, there are 42 projects under the three LoCs. Of them, 14 have been completed at a cost of around $410 million, or around 6 percent of the overall commitment under the first two credit deals.
According to the terms of the deal, all project-related materials must be procured from India and all contractors and consultants must be hired from India.
Sheikh awarded the contract to Indian companies without qualification checks
Indian entities, both public and private, have played a consulting and engineering role in Bangladesh’s Metro Rail projects. The most significant involvement has been in the Dhaka Metro, specifically with MRT Line 6.
Key Indian contributors to the Dhaka Metro
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC): As a consultant, DMRC has been involved in several lines of the Dhaka Metro project. In 2022, the DMRC Managing Director visited Dhaka to meet with Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) officials to review progress.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T): This Indian multinational engineering and construction company has been an active participant in the project.
According to sources of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), Tk 274 crore was allocated for the ‘electromechanical’ sector in the Revised Development Project Proposal (RDPP) for the financial year 2020-21. But after the tender, the Indian company demanded about Rs 650 crore for the same work. After a long bargain, the two sides finally agreed to a deal worth Tk 465 crore.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is funding the project, officials said. According to the agreement with them, they have to work with a specific listed contractor. As a result, there was no opportunity to give work to any other local or third party.
The outgoing project director. “According to the 2022 dollar rates, the work was supposed to be done at tk 274 crore. But due to the increase in the price of the dollar and the cost of imports, it has to be done at tk 465 crore. ”
DMTCL Managing Director Faruk Ahmed said, “We were able to get the work done 30-40 per cent less than what the contractor wanted. The work on the Kamalapur section will be completed soon. ”
MRT Line 6: L&T was part of a joint venture that signed a contract with DMTCL for the construction of Dhaka’s first metro line in 2018.
Joint venture bids: In 2023, a joint venture between L&T and Japan’s Marubeni submitted a quotation for a contract package related to the MRT Line 6 extension.
The Indian branch of this French engineering and consulting group has provided support for the Dhaka Metro. The Indian teams work closely with their counterparts in Bangladesh on projects such as consulting services for Line 1, which include supervising construction of the underground section and the depot building. SYSTRA also worked with L&T on the design for MRT Line 6.
A point of comparison
Recent reports indicate that the cost of Dhaka’s metro rail is significantly higher than that of similar projects in India. While India’s participation is limited to specific areas like consultancy and specialized engineering, the bulk of financing for Bangladesh’s metro comes from other foreign sources, primarily Indian. This dynamic, along with the dominance of unqualified Indian contractors and corruption, is cited as a reason for inflated project costs.
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