The government has decided to scrap the country’s first bus rapid transit project on the Gazipur–airport corridor, demolishing all its infrastructure except two overpasses and converting the corridor into a general highway.

It has also decided to dissolve Dhaka Bus Rapid Transit PLC – a state-owned company responsible for implementing and managing the BRT project – and bring its responsibilities under the Road Transport and Highways Division of the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges.

The cabinet took the decisions at its meeting on Sunday, but they were not disclosed at the subsequent press briefing.

The cabinet also directed the authorities concerned to take necessary action in this regard on an urgent basis. They are to send a progress report on the implementation to the Road Transport and Highways Division within 15 days and by the third of every month thereafter until the work is completed.

The Road Transport and Highways Division issued an official letter, signed by division Deputy Secretary Taslima Ahmed Poly, on Monday outlining the future course of action for the project. A copy of the letter was obtained by New Age.

Both Taslima Ahmed Poly and the Dhaka BRT PLC Managing Director Muhammad Nurul Amin Khan confirmed the decisions to New Age on Monday night.

Launched 14 years ago, the Tk 4,268.32 crore project had completed 97 per cent of its infrastructure work, spending Tk 2,810 crore, by its December 2024 deadline. Overall physical progress stood at 77.48 per cent. The deadline has not been extended since.

The dedicated BRT lanes on the busy Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway are now open to all vehicles. The BRT service itself, the main feature of the corridor, has yet to be launched after two failed attempts to procure buses.

Four options proposed by experts had recently been under consideration: completing the BRT, franchising routes, turning the corridor into an expressway, or demolishing the BRT infrastructure and converting it into a highway, which would effectively mean scrapping the project.

According to the letter, the division’s summary proposal on the future of the project was reviewed at the cabinet meeting.

It said that, following an overall review, it was appropriate to convert the corridor into a general highway with three lanes in each direction by removing the BRT stations, lane dividers and other structures. It added that the two two-lane overpasses could be widened to four lanes.

The letter also said the project would have to be closed after the existing legal complications were resolved through discussions with the development partners concerned.

‘In addition, it is appropriate to close Dhaka BRT PLC and bring the related activities under the purview of the Road Transport and Highways Division,’ it said.

The cabinet also decided that the division would take further action in line with its discussions.