Marubeni is Awarded a Lump-Sum Contract for Bangladesh’s First Mass Rapid Transit System

Marubeni Corporation (hereinafter, “Marubeni”) and one of the largest engineering and construction companies in India, Larsen & Toubro Limited (hereinafter, “L&T”), have been jointly awarded a lump-sum contract for the supply of the electrical and mechanical railway systems for Dhaka MRT Line 6 by Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (hereinafter, “DMTC”).

The contract was signed between DMTC and Marubeni-L&T JV on June 3, 2018.

The contract consists of the design, procurement, installation work, testing, commissioning and maintenance support of Track Work, Electrification, Signaling, Communication, Platform Screen Doors, Automatic Fare Collection, Lifts and Escalators. The value of the contract is equivalent to approximately 55 billion Japanese Yen.

As the population of Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, has grown to exceed 15 million, and also due to the city’s economic growth, chronic traffic congestion and air pollution are becoming increasingly serious issues and are impeding on the further growth of Dhaka’s economy. Line 6 is the first Mass Rapid Transit system in Bangladesh and is fully funded by Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) in order to solve urgent issues such as these. This Line is composed of 20km of elevated tracks with 16 stations; the railway stretches from the north to the south of Dhaka city.

With regard to the “Export of High-Quality Infrastructure”, spearheaded by the Japanese government, this project will not only be equipped with a reliable Japanese-made signaling system, it will also mark the first time that a Japanese company was awarded a railway systems contract in a third-party country, together with an Indian company. Utilizing each party’s advantages, this project offers a competitive edge in terms of the quality of products and price competitiveness; this will open the door for more opportunities to win bids and to export high quality infrastructure.

Starting with this project, Marubeni Corporation will not only strive to participate in more urban railway projects, but also in other infrastructure projects in Bangladesh, thus contributing to further social and economic growth.