THE Ministry of Railways has submitted a proposal to the Bangladesh Planning Commission to procure 30 new 1000mm-gauge diesel locomotives for Bangladesh Railways (BR), using loan finance provided by the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
According to a senior ministry official quoted by local media outlet The Financial Express, AIIB will provide Taka 20bn ($US 162.9m) towards the order, estimated to cost a total of Taka 28.3bn. Once the project is approved by the Planning Commission, expected by the end of this year, tendering will commence and the new fleet is expected to be delivered by December 2029.
The ministry is intending to order a total of 60 new locomotives under the Bangladesh Railway Capacity Expansion Project, with the remaining 30 to be procured separately with funding support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). BR currently has a fleet of 168 1000mm-gauge and 128 1676mm-gauge locomotives, but fleet availability has not kept pace with infrastructure development.
The severe locomotive shortage has recently caused delays at the port of Chattogram, lengthening transit times for container traffic and causing supply chain disruption. As well as increasing capacity, the new fleet should enable BR to replace older members of its diesel fleet, reducing emissions and improving fuel efficiency.
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