In Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, the population grew from 6.62 million to 17.6 million between 1990 and 2015 (United Nations Population Division, 2018), and the rapid increase in traffic demand due to population growth and economic growth has caused chronic traffic congestion and air pollution.
Economic losses due to traffic congestion are estimated to be in the billions of U.S. dollars per year (World Bank, 2018), and there is also concern about the health hazards to residents of the Dhaka metropolitan area due to exhaust emissions associated with severe traffic congestion.
This cooperation is for the construction of an urban rapid transit line (MRT Line 1) connecting Kamalpur station in the city center, Hazrat Shahjalalal International Airport, and Phulbachar district, a newly developed residential area in Narayanganj district. The construction of MRT Line 1, a track-based mass transit system, will contribute to the economic development and improvement of the urban environment by meeting the transportation demand in the Dhaka metropolitan area, which is facing traffic congestion and environmental degradation, and by alleviating traffic congestion.