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 The Mohakhali Flyover, the single largest contract under the project, is easing traffic
congestions and delays;
 Some public transport services along project corridors have improved;
 Three major inter-district bus terminals have been rehabilitated;
 National vehicle and driver licensing systems have been computerized and agency personnel
trained;
 The regulatory framework for public transport has been reviewed, a policy for enforcing
parking restrictions drafted, and bus route franchising pilots proposed to improve bus
services;
 An urban transport policy, a plan for institutional strengthening and capacity building and a
strategic transport plan for improving transport services in Dhaka have been developed for
the 2005-2025 period.
Despite the many improvements, however, these changes have not reached the levels intended at the
project design stage. This is because the project’s components had to be restructured at the time of
the midterm review in early 2002, and were reduced by 40% due to unsatisfactory progress. Also,
the project had limited impact on strengthening the DMA's institutional and policy framework to
address transport planning and coordination issues (World Bank, 2013).
The World Bank also supported the conversion of one pilot corridor to a rickshaw free zone which
reduced travel time by about 30% per trip. Studies show that most travellers in this zone support this
conversion, some segments of the population, especially rickshaw pullers who plied these routes, and
some travellers who relied on rickshaws for short distance trips, have been adversely affected. The
wider implementation was eventually abandoned as aggregate positive impacts of NMT free
conversion on transport users and transport providers did not outweigh the aggregate negative
impact (World Bank, 2013; ITDP, 2005).
In addition, the government of Bangladesh has received a loan from the Asian Development Bank to
implement the Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Project which involves a building a 20 km
long BRT route, starting from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Gazipur. Once BRT project is
in operation, it will carry 20 thousand passenger/hour/direction and travelling time will be half of the
present (Bangladesh Bridge Authority, 2015).
5.4.6. Health
Air pollution is a severe problem in Dhaka. Traffic is one of the major sources of particulate matter
and gaseous pollutants in the city. The numerous three wheelers and taxis are the most polluting
vehicles while constant congestion leads to toxic levels of pollutants in the atmosphere. Policy
interventions are primarily focused on traffic emissions. The banning of leaded petrol and two stroke
vehicles in 1999 and 2003, the promotion of compressed natural gas and the introduction of air
pollution control devices have led to a slow but steady improvement (Burkart et al, 2007).
5.4.7. Climate change
In Dhaka, a large proportion of greenhouse gases come from the electricity and transport sectors,
although their contribution to total global greenhouse gas emissions is negligible. Given the rate of
population growth in Dhaka, electricity consumption and the transport sector, the city’s contribution
to global greenhouse gases will increase. It must be noted that brick kilns around the city and landfill
sites also contribute to global greenhouse gases. They usually operate for about six months a year, and
every year in the dry season, they burn nearly 2 million tons of coal (Alam and Rabbani, 2007).
At the same time Dhaka is severely affected by the effects of climate change. The city has faced a
number of severe floods since its early days and its vulnerability to these resulted in the building of
the Buriganga River flood embankment in 1864. Severe flooding in Greater Dhaka is mainly the result
of spill over from surrounding rivers that flow to and from the major rivers of the country, as well as
internal water logging. In recent history, Dhaka has experienced major floods in 1954, 1955, 1970,