On August 20 (local time), KOICA hosted the inauguration ceremony of an IT-based Traffic Management Center in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. (Image courtesy of KOICA)
SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea is exporting its advanced intelligent transportation system (ITS) to Bangladesh, where chronic congestion and high accident rates have long plagued daily life in the capital and beyond.
The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) announced Friday that it has opened Bangladesh’s first Traffic Management Center (TMC) in Dhaka, introducing technology that integrates roads, vehicles, signals, and sensors to ease traffic flow and reduce accidents.
Bangladesh has faced mounting challenges as vehicle numbers surged against the backdrop of fragile road infrastructure. In Dhaka alone, home to more than 24 million people, traffic bottlenecks and collisions have become part of daily life.
In response, KOICA worked with Korea Expressway Corporation, the Korea Transport Institute, and several Korean engineering firms, alongside Bangladesh’s Roads and Highways Department, to design a system tailored to local conditions.
Facilities have been installed on part of the N8 highway, a key artery linking the southwest region to Dhaka, with the new TMC serving as the operational hub.
(Image courtesy of KOICA)
The center enables real-time monitoring, congestion management, accident prevention, and rapid response. KOICA has also trained local officials and technicians over the past year and completed pilot operations before the formal launch.
More than 150 officials from both countries attended the inauguration ceremony this week, including South Korean Ambassador Park Young-sik and senior Bangladeshi transport officials.
“This traffic management center is a landmark achievement of bilateral cooperation and technology exchange,” Ambassador Park said, pledging Seoul’s continued support for safer and more efficient roads in Bangladesh.
KOICA’s Bangladesh director Kim Ji-hoon added that the agency will work with Dhaka to expand ITS nationwide across major highways.
The initiative underscores South Korea’s growing role in exporting infrastructure know-how to developing countries while offering Bangladesh a potential model for easing one of its most pressing urban challenges.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
