The Padma Bridge will be opened for vehicular movement before June next year, said Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Tuesday.
The Awami League general secretary announced this while virtually attending a Doa mahfil and Quran distribution programme to mark Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 75th birthday at Naria upazila in Shariatpur district.
“You have lost your lands, houses for PM’s vision of Padma Bridge which is already visible,” the minister said to the people of Shariatpur.
Quader said Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the much-cherished bridge.
Padma Bridge is one of the top priority projects of the government as it has planned to strengthen the country’s communications network, aiming to give a boost to economic activity.
On December 10, 2020, the last span, named 2S, was installed on pillars 12 and 13 of the bridge at Mawa point.
About Padma Bridge
China Major Bridge Engineering Corporation (MBEC), was appointed for the main bridge work. The steel material bridge’s length is 6.15 km, viaduct 3.148 km (road), 532 m (rail), approach road: 12.117 km, span: 41 (with each span being 150 meters long).
However, the project was first approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) with an estimated cost of Tk10,161 crore in 2007.
Following irreconcilable differences with the World Bank arising out of the issue of financing in 2012, the government decided to go for it alone.
The second revision of the project was approved by Ecnec on January 5, 2016 with an estimated cost of Tk 28,794 to be implemented by 2018. Without changing the project proposal, the costs were increased again to Tk 30,193 crore In June 2018.
Rail Link
On October 14, last year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the construction work on a rail link between Dhaka and Jashore under the ‘Padma Bridge Rail Link Construction Project.’
The first phase of the ‘Padma Bridge Rail Link Construction Project’ will establish a rail link between Mawa and Bhanga via Janjira and Shibchar through the Padma Multipurpose Bridge.
This will connect Dhaka, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Shariatpur, Madaripur, Faridpur, Gopalganj, Narail and Jashore.
China Railway Group Limited, a Chinese government-nominated contractor, is implementing the project under the China G2G system.
Source: United News of Bangladesh