Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC), a state-owned transport company, is likely to procure 1,000 new buses for plying across the country including 340 CNG-run air-conditioned (AC) buses.
Under a Tk 1,133.46 crore project, the BRTC will procure the 340 CNG-run AC buses under a soft loan at 0.1 per cent interests from the South Korea. Of the buses, 140 will be plied for city services in Dhaka city while the rest for intercity services.
While talking to this correspondent at his office recently, Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation Chairman Tazul Islam, also an additional secretary to the government, said that within July this year, the buses will be imported. In this regard, they have already started the tender process.
Col Mobarak Hossain Majumder, Director of the BRTC, has already been assigned as the director of the project to procure the luxury buses from the South Korea.
The process of appointing consultant for the 18-month project is on and it would be completed within March this year, he informed.
Tazul Islam claimed that the international tender to procure the luxury buses would be floated within February, so that the buses can be imported within the stipulated period. The project might be extended till December 31 this year to complete the procedures.
The Chairman said BRTC has been planning to expand its services in Dhaka, Chattogram and on different inter-district routes by procuring around 1,000 buses.
A project to buy 340 CNG-run AC buses has already been passed, while three more projects for buying 600 more buses are pending approval.
Regarding the condition of Korean soft loan, the BRTC Chairman said that the soft loan has been given with the interest of 0.1 per cent. The South Korean EXIM Bank is giving the loan for repaying in 25 years with an additional 15.5 years grace period.
He stated that BRTC is now operational in 208 local and five international routes between Bangladesh and India. Currently, we are carrying feasibility studies to operate buses on three more international routes. The state-run transport agency is going to take two separate projects to groom 1.75 lakh drivers.
"Our main target is to turn the BRTA into a modern, profitable and smart organization," he added.
Tazul said BRTC was incurring losses till 2019-20, but the management led by him made the corporation a profitable one after taking charge in February 2021. BRTC made Tk 84.35 crore profit in the last three fiscal years.
The Corporation had dues (salary and other benefits of workers and employees) of Tk 101 crore till 2021, but the corporation has now paid Tk 77 crore over the last three years.
