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The government has approved in-principle the direct procurement of 200 electric buses, charging stations, and essential support infrastructure for the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) without open tendering.
The approval was finalized today, Thursday (August 6), during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs held at the Secretariat, chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury.
The fleet expansion proposal submitted by the Road Transport and Highways Division includes dedicated buses for female commuters.
To initiate the green transition, the Road Transport and Highways Division recently submitted a formal requisition signed by Senior Assistant Secretary Ajit Deb to the Finance Division, seeking a BDT 400 crore grant or equity allocation from the 2026-27 operational budget.
The division cited that funding the project via development loans would burden the state-run public transporter with debt and interest liabilities, making operations unsustainable. Under the BDT 400 crore breakdown, BDT 250 crore is estimated for purchasing the first phase of 100 electric buses, BDT 50 crore for 25 charging stations, BDT 35 crore for spare parts, BDT 20 crore for technical assistance and training, BDT 25 crore for transport and registration fees, and BDT 20 crore for depot infrastructure development.
The ministry highlighted that deploying electric buses will significantly reduce carbon emissions, cut fuel import dependencies, and lower long-term operational costs. The buses are slated for deployment across key urban routes in Dhaka as well as inter-city routes connecting divisional headquarters.