Govt plans to procure 800 electric AC buses for public transport

The government has planned to procure 800 air-conditioned single-decker electric buses under two separate projects to expand safe and comfortable public transport for women, including the recently launched ‘Pink Bus’ service in Dhaka, Chattogram and Bogura.

Of the 800 buses, some will be deployed for the women-only Pink Bus service, while the rest will be operated by the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) as part of its environmentally friendly public transport fleet.

The two projects have an estimated combined cost of Tk 4,583.70 crore, of which Tk 3,546 crore is expected to come from foreign loans.

South Korea and China are being considered as potential sources of the financing, according to officials from the Planning Ministry, Economic Relations Division (ERD) and BRTC.

BRTC Director (Administration and Operations) Md Rahenul Islam said the corporation plans to procure 1,000 buses in phases.

“Once these projects are implemented, the Pink City Service will be expanded further,” he said.

The first project, titled “Procurement of Electric Single Decker 300 AC Buses for BRTC,” has an estimated cost of Tk 2,713.19 crore. Of this, Tk 2,009.77 crore will come from foreign loans, while Tk 703.42 crore will be provided by the government.

The government has sought financing from South Korea’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) to procure the 300 electric buses. The ERD has already sent a letter to the South Korean authorities seeking the loan.

ERD Deputy Secretary (Asia, JEC and F&F) Irene Parveen confirmed that Bangladesh would procure 300 buses from South Korea and that a request for financing had already been sent.

The project includes Tk 1,383.75 crore for purchasing the 300 electric AC buses, Tk 207.56 crore for spare parts, Tk 92.25 crore for 25 electric charging stations, and Tk 26.14 crore for generators and transformers.

It also includes expenditure on workshops, washing plants, warehouses, vehicle tracking and video monitoring systems, fire safety infrastructure, wreckers, portable chargers and training.

Meanwhile, the government is also considering procuring another 500 electric AC buses from China at an estimated cost of Tk 1,870.51 crore. Of this, Tk 333 crore would come from government funds and Tk 1,537 crore from a Chinese loan.