Larsen & Toubro has secured orders valued at more than ₹5,000 crore for key systems on Dhaka Metro Line 1, Bangladesh’s first underground metro project, strengthening the Indian infrastructure company’s role in the country’s expanding urban rail network.
L&T said on Tuesday that its transportation business vertical will execute design-and-build packages for track works and electrical systems on the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project. The packages also cover signalling, telecommunications and platform screen doors, which are essential to the safe and reliable operation of a metro corridor.
The company will carry out the work with Japanese partner Sumitomo Corporation. The scope includes the design, procurement, installation, testing and commissioning of complete track works, power supply and distribution systems, traction substations, overhead catenary systems and associated electrical facilities across the corridor.
L&T classifies contracts valued above ₹5,000 crore as major orders. The company did not disclose the precise value of the packages in its announcement, but said they form the core operational systems of Dhaka Metro Line 1.
The 31-km project is being funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and will connect key parts of Dhaka through two routes. The Airport Route will run from Kamalapur to the airport, while the Purbachal Route will connect Natun Bazar with Purbachal Terminal. The project includes 19 stations and a depot at Pitalganj.
The new order builds on L&T’s earlier work on Dhaka Metro Line 6, Bangladesh’s first metro rail corridor, which is currently in commercial operation. L&T said its transportation business had delivered the integrated railway systems package for that corridor. The company also pointed to its ongoing work on the Jakarta Metro as part of its experience in integrating multiple railway systems.
“With a strong track record of delivering E&M systems for the Dhaka Metro Line 6 with the highest standards of quality and timely execution, and more recently, for the Jakarta Metro, which is under execution, we are well positioned to leverage our experience in seamlessly integrating multiple systems in close coordination with OEMs and stakeholders,” Ramkumar S, senior executive vice-president and head of Transportation Infrastructure at L&T, said in the statement.
For Dhaka, the project adds another major investment to a mass-transit network being developed to improve urban mobility. The line’s combination of an airport connection and a route to Purbachal is intended to link established city areas with a growing urban district. The order announced by L&T covers the systems that will allow trains, power, signalling and passenger safety infrastructure to operate as an integrated network.
The next stages of the contract will involve design, procurement, installation, testing and commissioning by L&T and Sumitomo Corporation across the project corridor.
