Ex-ante Evaluation
1. Name of the ProjectCountry: The People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Project: Dhaka–Chittagong Railway Development Project(Loan Agreement: December 11, 2007; Loan Amount: 12,916 million yen; Borrower: TheGovernment of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh)
2. Necessity and Relevance of JBIC’s Assistance
1. Present state and issues facing the railway sector in Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, projects in the railway sector require more time and funds to bear fruit than doprojects in the road and other sectors. For this and other reasons, the government of Bangladesh hasscarcely made any new investments in railway development since independence in the 1970s.
Consequently, virtually all railway facilities and equipment now in use were developed during theBritish colonial period (up to 1947). Indeed, they have become so old and decrepit that they areunable to fully capitalize on the railway’s inherent strengths – massive, rapid, punctual, safe, andenvironment friendly – resulting in reduced transportation volume, poorer service and a smaller role
for the railway in the overall transport sector.
In parallel with the robust GDP growth (5–6%) in recent years, demand for freight transportation
has steadily increased by 5–6% annually in Bangladesh, showing particularly rapid growth in the
demand for transport in the Dhaka–Chittagong section, connecting Dhaka, the capital city andpolitical and economic hub of the country, and Chittagong, the second largest city and industrial hub
with the country’s largest seaport. Since 2001, the amount of cargo handled at the port of Chittagong
has been increasing by more than 10% annually, but if the port facilities are expanded and enoughprivate companies are attracted to the Export Processing Zone (EPZ), the demand for transport in theDhaka–Chittagong section can be expected to increase even further. Whereas the government has
high expectations for the railway – as an alternative mode of transportation to roads – to play aleading role in meeting this increasing demand, it seems difficult, both in terms of transportation
volume and quality of service, for the current railway facilities to meet such expectations, thus posing
a bottleneck for the economic growth in the years ahead. Additionally, in order to achieve sustainable
development that takes the environment into consideration, a modal shift from road transportation toenvironment friendly railway transportation is indispensable. (The railway’s CO2 emission per
ton-kilometer is less than 1/8 of that of the automobile.)
2. Policies of the railway sector in Bangladesh and the position of this project
The need for infrastructure development, enhanced transportation capacity, and improvement inservice quality of the railway sector are all stated in the National Land Transport Policy (adopted inAugust 2004) and the Integrated Multi-modal Transport Policy. On the basis of these policies, thegovernment of Bangladesh is scheduled to formulate the Railway Development Plan, which will
include the plan for implementing projects in the railway sector over the next 20 years. In addition,
the government plans to take up sector reforms through organizational, administrative andinstitutional improvements of Bangladesh Railway (BR), and has formulated long-term planning andorganizational realignment proposals (collectively designated as the BR Reform Program) with aneye to changing BR to a public corporation. JBIC intends to support these sector reforms jointly with-1-the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank (WB).
3. JBIC’s assistance policy for the railway sector in Bangladesh and actual performance
In its Medium-Term Strategy for Overseas Economic Cooperation Operations (FY2005–2007),JBIC sets “assistance for improvement of core economic infrastructure to promote economic growth”
as its priority area for Bangladesh. By improving the railway sector, this project aims to take fulladvantage of the railway’s inherent strengths – massive, rapid, punctual, safe, and environment
friendly – and contribute to the socioeconomic development of Bangladesh in the years ahead. Thus
the project is consistent with JBIC’s assistance policy, and JBIC’s support for the project is highly
necessary and relevant.
3. Project Objectives
The objective of this project is to strengthen the transportation capacity and to improve the quality ofservice of the Dhaka–Chittagong Railway by doubling part of the line, rehabilitating a railway
workshop, and procuring locomotives and the like, and thereby contribute to socioeconomic
infrastructure development and environmental improvement.
4. Project Description(1) Target Area
The area along the Dhaka–Chittagong Railway and the city of Chittagong(2) Project Outline(a) Track doubling of the Laksam–Chinkiastana section (61 km)(b) Expansion and rehabilitation of a Pahartali railway workshop (including its training facilities)(c) Rehabilitation of the Chittagong passenger station(d) Procurement of 11 locomotives for the Dhaka–Chittagong Railway(e) Consulting services (detailed design, tender assistance, project management, skill
development)(3) Total Project Cost / Loan Amount
20,811 million yen (Yen Loan Amount: 12,916 million yen)
(4) Schedule
November 2007–July 2015 (93 months). The project completion is defined as the completion ofdefect liability period.
(5) Implementation Structure(a) Borrower: The Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh(b) Executing Agency: Bangladesh Railway (BR)(c) Operation and Maintenance System: Same as (b)(6) Environmental and Social Consideration(a) Environmental Effects / Land Acquisition and Resident Relocation(i) Category: B(ii) Reason for Categorization-2-

This project is not likely to have significant adverse impact on the environment due to the factthat the project sector and project characteristics are not likely to exert impact and the project
is not located in a sensitive area under the “Japan Bank for International Cooperation
Guidelines for Confirmation of Environmental and Social Considerations” (established inApril 2002). Thus this project is classified as Category B.
(iii) Environmental Permit
Preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report related to this project is
not required under the domestic laws of Bangladesh.
(iv) Anti-Pollution Measures
This project is expected to rehabilitate and expand mainly existing facilities, and so no
significant adverse impact on the environment is foreseen. Nevertheless, during theconstruction, appropriate measures for pollution control based on the Initial Environmental
Impact Assessment and the like will be implemented.
(v) Natural Environment
This project is expected to rehabilitate and expand mainly existing facilities, and so theadverse impact on the natural environment is assumed to be minimal.
(vi) Social Environment
This project will hand over the approximately 1,440 ha of land owned by the executing
agency as well as make compensation arrangements related to the handover in accordancewith the domestic procedure of Bangladesh. Additionally, illegal residents of 11 households
are expected to be relocated, and the compensation and relocation procedure will be carriedout according to the domestic procedure of Bangladesh.
(vii) Other/ Monitoring
The executing agency will monitor the air quality, water quality, noise, resident relocation,etc.
(b) Promotion of Poverty Reduction
None(c) Promotion of Social Development (e.g. Gender Perspective, Measure for Infectious Diseases
including AIDS, Participatory Development, Consideration for the Handicapped, etc.)
In the rehabilitation of a passenger station to be implemented in the project, in order topromote the use of the station by a wide range of people, including the elderly and thehandicapped, while keeping in mind the need to allow for future increases in demand, auniversal design will be applied to various railway facilities including platforms, overbridges,
station building and an information and guidance system. In addition, as part of its consultingservices, the project plans to engage in educational and awareness raising activities regarding
the prevention of HIV/AIDS. The plan will be implemented by the contractor.
(7) Other Important Issues
This project plans to reform of the BR including strengthening its organizational capacity, jointlywith ADB and the World Bank.

-3-5. Outcome Targets(1) Evaluation Indicators (Operation and Effect Indicator)
Indicator
Passengers getting on and off
the target station (persons/day)
Freight transportation volume(1,000 TEU/year)
Number of running trains(number of up/down-trains/day)
Maximum speed (km/h)
Operation punctuality* (%)

Baseline(2005 actual)

Target(2016, 1 year aftercompletion)

5,440

15,600

79

336

3865

Passenger trains: 55.0
Freight trains: 31.0
Inter-city trains: 71.8
Local trains: 59.2

Passenger trains: 80.0
Freight trains: 60.0
Inter-city trains: 95
Local trains: 85

Operating rate of–86
locomotives** (%)
Productivity of the Pahartali
Locomotives: 3/month
Locomotives: 4/monthworkshop (number of repaired
Coaches: 2.4/day
Coaches: 3.5/day
rail vehicles/day or month)
Wagons: 5.00/day
Wagons: 7.5/day
The values obtained for the Laksam–Chinkiastana section are used for indicators other than the“operating rate” and “productivity of the Pahartoli workshop.”* Operation punctuality: (On-time running trains) / (running trains) at each station** Operating rate of locomotives: Total number of operating days per year of procured rail vehicles /(number of procured rail vehicles × [number of business days – average non-operating days due toinspection, etc.])
Reference: Reduction in CO2 emission can be expected.
(2) Internal Rate of Return (Financial and Economic Internal Rate of Return)
Based on the following conditions, the economic internal rate of return (EIRR) of the project is 9.0%;
the financial internal rate of return (FIRR) is 2.0%.
[EIRR](a) Cost: Project cost (excluding tax), operation and maintenance expenses(b) Benefit: Reduction in travel time, productivity improvement, and reduction in procurement
cost of locomotives, automobiles, etc.
(c) Project Life: 25 years[FIRR](a) Cost: Project cost, operation and maintenance expenses(b) Benefit: Fare receipts(c) Project Life: 25 years-4-6. External Risk Factors
・ Diminished effectiveness of the project due to delays and interruptions of related projects fundedby ADB and the World Bank.
・ Delays in the project caused by delays and interruptions in railway sector reforms, as well as byorganizational disruption at the time of reform.
・ Delays in the civil engineering work, etc. due to flooding and other natural disasters.
7. Lessons Learned from Findings of Similar Projects Undertaken in the Past
In the ex-post evaluations of similar past projects, the lesson learned is that in numerous projects thatinvolve procurement of facilities, railway vehicles and the like, it is necessary to determine therelevance of scale and specifications from the railway system as a whole and on the basis of futureplans. In this project, in addition to calculating the procurement scale of locomotives based on thedemand analysis of trunk rail lines, it is planned to consider, among other things, standardizing theirspecifications.
Another lesson learned is that, due to the executing agency’s limited financial capacity and theinefficient implementation structure of state owned enterprises, similar past projects were neither
properly implemented nor properly operated and maintained. In this project, as part of thegovernment’s railway sector reforms, JBIC plans to provide, jointly with other donors, support
related to the improvement of financial and personnel management system, review of the faresystem, and improvement of the operation and maintenance system.
8. Plans for Future Evaluation(1) Indicators for Future Evaluation(a) Passengers getting on and off the target station (person/day)(b) Freight transportation volume (1,000 TEU/year)(c) Number of running trains (number of up/down -trains/day)(d) Maximum speed (km/h)(e) Operation punctuality (%)(f) Operating rate of locomotives (%)(g) Productivity of the Pahartali workshop (number of repaired rail vehicles/day or month)(2) Timing of Next Evaluation
One year after project completion-5-