1. Bangladesh

AI traffic cameras, signals coming to 120 Dhaka intersections

Rollout to be funded from existing police resources and coordinated by the two city corporations

The signals, developed by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), operate automatically but can also be controlled manually when required.

A successful trial of AI-driven traffic signals and cameras has prompted Dhaka authorities to begin rolling the system out across key roads. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) plans to bring 120 major intersections under the technology in phases, with 76 junctions targeted for full deployment in the first phase.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman chaired a meeting on easing capital gridlock and modernising traffic management at the Secretariat last Monday, where the plan was presented. Dhaka’s two city corporations will coordinate with the police to implement the project, which will progressively automate traffic control on mainroads.

Officials said the project required no additional allocation and could be funded from the police’s own budget.

A pilot scheme launched on September 1 last year installed modern signals at seven locations: Jahangir Gate, outside the Chief Adviser’s Office, Bijoy Sarani, Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Bangla Motor and outside Hotel InterContinental. The signals, developed by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), operate automatically but can also be controlled manually when required.

The project is being financed by Dhaka’s two city corporations. DMP’s traffic division controls the signals and the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA), under the road transport and bridges ministry, coordinates the rollout.

DMP deployed the AI technology at these junctions on May 7 this year. AI cameras fitted with software to detect breaches of the Road Transport Act 2018 can, police and specialists say, help restore discipline to the transport sector, identify violations and make traffic management more effective.

Dhaka’s history with traffic signals, however, is littered with failure. The first were installed in the 1960s and disabled during the 1971 liberation war. A World Bank-funded project placed signals at 68 sites between 1999 and 2005; they proved ineffective and had failed by 2009. Another World Bank-financed effort added 91 intersections between 2009 and 2019, none of which became operational. AI-equipped signals installed at four intersections between 2014 and 2018 with JICA loan ceased working within a short period.

The new AI-driven push therefore brings some relief, but those involved say securing continuity and effectiveness is now the paramount challenge.

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