Diplomatic Correspondent

Bangladesh’s first-ever Traffic Management Center (TMC) was launched at Sarak Bhaban in the capital on Wednesday, aiming to reduce congestion, improve road safety, and enhance operational efficiency on national highways.

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in partnership with the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) under the Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD) implemented the project.

Established under the KOICA-funded project “Improving the Reliability and Safety on National Highway Corridors of Bangladesh through the Introduction of Intelligent Transport System (ITS)” (2020–2025) with a grant of US$8.93 million, the TMC covered the N8 Dhaka-Mawa Expressway, a key route connecting to the Padma Bridge, said a press release.

Equipped with advanced ITS technologies, the TMC would enable real-time traffic monitoring, vehicle speed tracking, data analysis, and incident management.

PARK Young Sik, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Bangladesh was the chief guest and Mohammad Abdur Rouf, Secretary of the Bridge Division of the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges was the guest of honour at the event held on Wednesday.

Jihoon Kim, Country Director of KOICA, Syed Moinul Hasan, Chief Engineer, RHD and Abu Momtaz Saad Uddin Ahmed, Chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and senior officials from RHD, Korea Expressway Corporation and Bangladesh Highway Police were also present.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador PARK said Korea is proud to support sustainable infrastructure and connectivity initiatives of Bangladesh.

Secretary Mohammad Abdur Rouf called the TMC a “landmark achievement” in road safety and transport modernization.

BRTA Chairman Abu Momtaz Saad Uddin Ahmed said the system could be integrated with vehicle inspection and driver databases to strengthen enforcement and road safety compliance.