It’s a small revolution for the capital of Bangladesh. Dhaka, with its 22 million inhabitants and its infernal car traffic, inaugurates its first metro line. It took 10 years to build it in this megalopolis, one of the most densely populated in the world. The inhabitants are delighted with this first stone.
With our correspondent in Bangalore, Como Bastin
In addition to infuriating the population, time wasted in traffic jams is said to cost Dhaka’s economy up to $3 billion a year. So, even late, the metro is a blessing for the locals. Esha Aurora, 36, says:
” It took 10 years and creates even more traffic jams because of the construction site. But now that it’s over, it’s going to help a lot of people get around town. Of course, in this big, centralized city, that doesn’t solve everything, but it’s an encouraging first step. »
During the launch ceremony, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina promised to eradicate traffic jams from Dhaka. It is therefore planned to build five other lines, for a total of one hundred stations.
Reduce traffic jams, but also pollution
It’s a titanic job, explains Johan Aouizerate, 24, who is working on the construction of line 5 with the French company Egis Rail: ” The main challenges of building a metro in Bangladesh are to reduce traffic and pollution. It takes time because of the difficulty of building in a city as dense as Dhaka. People will also need time to adapt to taking the metro. »
The section inaugurated on Wednesday December 28 cost 2.8 billion dollars, financed largely by Japanese development funds. Once operational, it should transport 60,000 people per hour and reduce, even a little, the alarming level of fine particles in the sprawling city.
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