National ITS implementation to cost $269m in 10 years: Koica

Installing the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) in Bangladesh is estimated to cost $269 million in 10 years, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (Koica) said on Wednesday.

The system will be introduced under a Koica-funded project to improve the reliability and safety of Bangladesh's national highway corridors, the South Korean government agency said during a presentation of a draft report for "Bangladesh National ITS Master Plan, ITS Architecture & Standards" at Renaissance Hotel in Dhaka.

At the presentation, Koica reported on the vision, goals, and implementation strategies for the ITS master plan, ITS services and systems, and phase-by-phase execution plan, according to a press statement.

The ITS master plan is a mid to long-term plan, with a total of 10 years consisting of three phases– 1st Phase: 2023-2025, 2nd Phase: 2026-2028, and 3rd Phase: 2029-2032, said the statement. 

Target roads for the project are the national highways from N1 to N8 and linkage roads under the jurisdiction of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD).

Under the project, a vehicle detection system, CCTV, automatic speed enforcement system, road weather information system, and weigh-in-motion devices will be installed on roads across the country.

Also, all traffic data will be integrated into a traffic data processing system in a traffic monitoring centre (TMC) in the RHD head office, which will then be displayed on the vehicle management system, website, and mobile phone application for public viewing.

The TMC will play the role of a national integration centre connecting with the highway police, local government centres, and eight sub-TMC will be established later on each N1 to N8 road such as Chattogram, Sylhet, Mymensing, Jamalpur, Rangpur, Rajshahi, Jashore, and Barishal.

The project is being implemented with a grant aid budget of $8.9 million over 2020~2023. Under the project, the first ITS will be introduced on N8 from Dhaka to Mawa.

Speaking on the occasion, South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun hoped the Korean experts will be able to develop an effective ITS master plan for Bangladesh to enhance efficiency by utilising ICT and ITS on highways.

He said, "I attended the opening ceremony of Padma Bridge where I saw the faces of the people who gathered to see the opening of this historic bridge with their own eyes. I'm impressed to see their enthusiasm, and I firmly believe that introducing ITS would also be historic on N8. I feel proud that South Korea would be part of this landmark project."

AKM Manir Hossain Pathan, chief engineer, RHD, said poor traffic management is one of the key factors that hamper road safety and reliability.

"There is a need for an ITS-driven solution to this problem. This project is undertaken to prepare a master plan and architecture of ITS for RHD road network and to implement a pilot project on N8," he said.

Last month, Korea Expressway Corp announced that it has signed a 104-billion-won contract with the Bangladeshi government to operate and manage the country's N8 Expressway—a 55-km, four-lane highway.