Turkey has shown its kind interest to invest in the country’s railway sector, said Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan.
He came up with this assertion while paying a courtesy call to Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan at his office at Railway Bhaban in the capital on Sunday.
Railways Minister said, “We are looking for foreign investment in the railway sector. There are many projects underway in the railways at present and many more projects will be taken up in the future. We have a master plan for the development of the railway sector, and we have been undertaking various projects since then.”
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“At the time of independence, the railway line of Bangladesh was 3000 kilometers but now it is 2800 kilometers. Our railway is divided into two parts by the river Jamuna. Broad gauge is in the west and meter gauge in the east. Most of them are single line tracks. We have taken initiative to upgrade all single lines to double lines in phases,” he added.
He also said, “Considering the needs of the people, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has formed a separate ministry for railway in 2011. Since then the government has started investing in the railway sector.”
Referring to several ongoing projects, the Minister said, “Construction of new line from Chattogram to Cox's Bazar, construction of 172 km new railway line from Dhaka to Jashore under Padma Bridge rail link project, construction of separate railway bridge over river Jamuna are underway. Initiatives have been taken to build a new railway line from Bhanga to Payra port. We are procuring new locomotives and passenger coaches from different countries. We are modernizing the factories. Gradually we will move towards electric traction.”
The Ambassador said, “Railways are an environmentally friendly, easy and affordable means of transport in any country. Bangladesh and Turkey have important bilateral relations.”
He hoped that more investment opportunities would be created in the railway sector in the future.
Secretary of the Ministry of Railways Md Selim Reza, Director General of Bangladesh Railway Dhirendra Nath Majumder, Commercial Counselor of the Turkish Embassy Kenan Kalayci were present at the occasion.
