Built to house nearly 100 buses, Gazipur’s newly completed Tk33 crore depot has been left idling in limbo following the sudden collapse of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.
After 14 years and Tk2,810 crore in expenditure, the government scrapped the country’s first dedicated BRT project before it became operational and decided to convert the Gazipur-Airport corridor into a six-lane road.
Following the decision, the depot stands unused, with no clear plan for what will happen to the costly facility.
The depot, built on approximately five acres in Naljani, was intended to serve as the operational hub for BRT buses running between Gazipur and Dhaka Airport.
However, with the government moving to dismantle the BRT infrastructure and convert the corridor into a regular six-lane highway, the investment faces an uncertain future.
Whether the facility will be repurposed or left abandoned remains undecided.
The depot was designed to accommodate bus parking, maintenance and repair facilities, an administrative building, an electrical substation, a fuel storage facility, and a filling station.
Bus washing areas, waste storage facilities, an effluent treatment plant, a water reservoir, boundary walls, and security posts have also been constructed.
As recently as 2024, the authorities invited fresh tenders to install fire safety equipment, including firefighting pumps, jockey pumps, and fire alarm control panels.
Yet the sprawling facility now has just one cleaner and five security guards on duty.
During a visit to the site, security personnel refused to grant entry to the premises.
“Anyone wishing to enter must obtain permission from officials at the head office in Dhaka,” said security guard Shayan Kumar Das.
Md Sabuj, who runs a shop near the depot, noted that the premises saw little activity. “Apart from the security guards, one or two people occasionally come here, stay for a short while, and then leave,” he said.
Officials from the Gazipur district administration and the Anti-Corruption Commission have recently visited the facility, although details regarding their inspections and findings remain unavailable.
For local residents, the uncertainty raises pressing questions about the misuse of public funds.
“So much money was spent building this depot. Now that the BRT project no longer exists, what will happen to it?” asked Anwar Hossain, a resident of Naljani. “It cannot simply be demolished. The government must find an alternative use for the facility.”
The depot’s uncertain fate adds further frustration to a project that caused prolonged disruption to commuters travelling between Gazipur and Dhaka.
For 14 years, motorists and passengers using the corridor endured severe hardships due to continuous construction work on the BRT network.
Under the government’s revised plan, BRT stations and lane dividers will be removed to create three standard traffic lanes in each direction.
The government also plans to expand two existing two-lane flyovers to four lanes.
However, whilst plans for the road’s conversion have emerged, officials have yet to explain what will become of the depot built to support the abandoned transport system.
Gazipur Roads and Highways Department Executive Engineer Tanvir Ahmed said his office had not yet received any official communication regarding the project’s cancellation.
“We have seen reports on television and read them in newspapers. What you know so far is all we know,” he told TIMES.
Sabbin Ferdous Khan, manager (engineer) of the Roads and Highways Department, failed to provide any information on the depot’s future and declined to comment on the issue.
Gazipur Deputy Commissioner Md Nurul Karim Bhuiyan said that a meeting was scheduled for next week to discuss the matter. “A meeting on the issue will be held next week. Whatever decision is taken following discussions will be communicated,” he said.
