New Delhi: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the country’s first metro rail service in Dhaka on Wednesday in presence of Japanese Ambassador Kiminori Iwama and Ichiguchi Tomohide.
According to the news agency AP’s report, the metro rail service, mostly funded by Japan, was inaugurated by PM Hasina, who was accompanied by the chief representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, or JICA.
“We have added another feather of pride to the crown of Bangladesh’s people today. Another feather added to the crown of the development of Bangladesh,” AP quoted the Prime Minister as saying during the inaugural event.
It is to be noted that a limited version of the metro rail service was launched on Wednesday, which is expected to grow to over 100 stations and six lines crisscrossing the city by 2030. A section of the first line connects a prime neighbourhood on Dhaka’s periphery with the city centre. It was built at a cost of $2.8 billion and was mostly funded by JICA.
As per reports, the line is expected to carry 60,000 people each hour when it is fully operational.