Electric buses will ply on Dhaka roads

Targets to avoid pollution

Mahfuz Emran : As more fossil fuels are burned, carbon emissions increase. Due to this, there is a ban on vehicles burning fossil fuel i.e. coal, petrol, diesel in different countries of the world. For example, Glasgow, Scotland has banned all fossil fuel vehicles. Instead, there are electric vehicles.
Such an initiative is to protect the city dwellers from environmental pollution. Lately, an initiative has been taken to introduce eco-friendly electric transport in Dhaka. This experimental charging station will be set up by Road Transport and Highways Department of Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), Department of Environment and Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC).
This project will be implemented in Dhaka city from the current time to June 2026.
According to the concerned sources, initially under the project, where charging stations can be set up in the city, what kind of batteries are required in charging stations and how to set up battery recycling and destruction plants, will be fixed. Besides, people who own electric vehicles can use these charging stations initially. Later the project will be taken up at government expense.
For this, three departments of the government will initially take the initiative of the survey. How many charging stations can be set up in Dhaka city, how many buses will be needed, in which direction the route will go – a project titled ‘Enabling Electric Vehicle Adaptation in Framework of Sustainable Energy Based Transportation’ is being taken to plan the overall issues. This is basically a pilot project. A three-year plan will be taken up at a cost of Tk 22 crore. Out of the total expenditure, GEF (Global Environment Facility) will give Tk 183.6 million and UNDP will give 1 million rupees. The remaining amount will be paid from the government treasury.
In this regard, BRTA Chairman Noor Mohammad Majumder told Jago News that we are taking up projects to see how to introduce environment-friendly transport in the city. When implemented on a large scale, environmental pollution in Dhaka will be reduced to a large extent. This is a timely task in managing transport in foreign grants.
Objective of project
Building battery-recycling plants, upskilling drivers and technicians of BRTC through local and international exposure training.
Regarding the acceptance of the project, the stakeholders claim that the project is being taken for ancillary work including the installation of charging stations to increase the convenience of using electric vehicles.
Main activities of project
Tk 2.3 crore will be spent on local consultancy sector, Tk 3.24 crore on foreign consultancy sector, Tk 3.76 crore on consultancy sector of any company or firm. Apart from this, Tk 74 lakh will be spent on various seminars and workshops. Tk 4.74 crore will be spent on purchasing four 300 to 400 KV chargers for testing. Tk 1.75 crore will be spent on purchase of advanced recycling batteries and Tk 1.54 crore will be spent on setting up three solar hybrid charging setups.
Meanwhile, the project proposal has been sent to the Planning Commission. The commission has given some opinion on the proposed project.
According to the Planning Commission, Tk 96.11 lakh have been proposed to the GOB sector for the outsourcing of 468 man-months (total working hours of manpower) of different categories of manpower under the project. Although there is a rule to determine the manpower structure of the project in the light of the recommendation of the Manpower Committee of the Finance Department, the recommendation of the Manpower Committee of the Finance Department has not been accepted in the discussed project.
In the light of the recommendations of the Manpower Committee of the Finance Department, the amount and cost of all types of manpower including outsourcing should be determined. In the project, Tk 36 lakh will be spent on junior consultant services for 36 months, and Tk 2 crore 3 lakh 80 thousand for 92 months on local consultancy services. Tk 3 crore 24 lakh 84 thousand for 42 person months as an individual consultant in the foreign consulting service sector and Tk 3 crore 76 lakh 32 thousand for 40 person months in the consulting service (firm/company) sector.
4 EV charging stations (300-500 KW) are proposed to be set up for BRTC buses at a cost of Tk 4 crore 74 lakh 28 thousand. The meeting may discuss the geographical location of the proposed charging stations. It also requires discussion on how far the uninterrupted service network will extend.
Besides, it is necessary to discuss in the meeting whether the no-objection of the electricity department has been accepted or not because of the electrical connection with the charging stations. Under the project, a battery recycling and disposal plant is proposed to be set up at a cost of Tk 1 crore 75 lakh 27 thousand. The location of the proposed battery recycling and disposal plant may be discussed at the meeting. Besides, the commission has asked to inform about the process by which the battery recycling and destruction plant will be set up. How to dispose of expired electronic equipment-batteries can be discussed in the meeting.
Foreign training and local training area, duration, trainee selection method, number, budget allocation expenses can be discussed in the meeting. Under the project, setup of 3 (2 to 3 wheeler vehicles) charging stations is proposed at a cost of Tk 1 crore 54 lakh 65 thousand. The meeting may discuss whether the no-objection of the electricity department has been accepted or not as the proposed project is related to electricity.
In this regard, Nikhil Kumar Das, Joint Head of Road Transport Wing of Planning Commission’s Physical Infrastructure Department told that under the project, eco-friendly or electric buses will be launched on a short scale. However, only charging stations and plants have been mentioned under this project. Later, electric buses will be purchased under another project. If the charging stations are installed, some private transport will also be able to use them.