Short Bio of Dr. M. Rahmatullah

Dr. M. Rahmatullah was the Director of Transport and Infrastructure Development at UN-ESCAP, Bangkok, and retired in June 2000, after 22 years of service with the United Nations (UN). He is an internationally reputed Transport Specialist with over 45 years of experience in Bangladesh and abroad.   In Bangladesh, he was the Joint Chief/Joint Secretary,(Transport) Planning Commission, which he left in 1978 to join the UN-ESCAP. He started his career in 1962 as a Lecturer in the Civil Engineering Department of BUET( Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology), Dhaka,  and obtained the degree of Master of Civic Design (MCD) in 1966 and Ph.D. in Transportation Planning in 1968, both from the University of Liverpool, UK. He was a founding faculty member of Urban and Regional Planning Department at EPUET (BUET), in 1968.   On his return to Dhaka after retirement from UN in 2000, he joined the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) as the Programme Director, and continued up to 2005. During his work with CPD, he authored 2- Policy Briefs in Transport for politicians, one in 2001, and the other in 2003. He has also been pursuing the issue of regional cooperation in transport among SAARC and BCIM( Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar) countries during the period up to 2005.   As a Transport Specialist, during 2005-06, he authored the SAARC Regional Multimodal Transport Study (SRMTS) as its Team Leader.  He also made valuable contribution in the preparation of the Strategic Transport Plan (STP) for Greater Dhaka in 2006. In mid-2007, as a Deputy Team Leader, he contributed in the preparation of  Road Master Plan for Bangladesh.   Since 2005, he has been working as the Transport Policy Advisor in a DFID funded TSMR programme in the Bangladesh Planning Commission. He made substantial contribution in drafting the Integrated Multimodal Transport Policy (IMTP) of Bangladesh, which is under active consideration of the Government for approval. He is also an Advisor to the establishment of Road Fund in Bangladesh. In 2008-2009, he made substantial contribution in preparing the Railway Master Plan and the Inland Water Transport (IWT) Master Plan for Bangladesh, which are now in the process for approval by the Government.   Dr. Rahmatullah is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh as well as Bangladesh Institute of Planners, Dhaka, and a Fellow of E.D.I., World Bank, U.S.A.