The much-hyped Padma Bridge, a Bridge of Pride an iconic infrastructure project of Bangladesh, is near completion.
Six kilometers of the mega bridge became visible on Friday offer the installation of its 40th span. The 3,140-ton span was installed on the piers 11 and 12 at Mawa point of Munshiganj district in the morning.
“We have achieved another milestone today with the installation of 40th span. Now only one span is to be set up,” said Project Director of Padma Bridge Md Shafiqul Islam.
The 6.15km-long bridge is designed to have 41 spans, with each span being 150 meters long.
Officials said a total of 41 spans would become visible of the bridge in December, as the pace of work is going fast with maintaining proper health guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic.
The last and 41st span of the under construction Padma Bridge will set up on the 12th and 13th piers of the bridge on December 10, they added.
The construction work of the mega bridge faced serious set back during June-September due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But a total of eight spans were installed in between October and November as construction work of the bridge got momentum overcoming the pandemic impact.
“The bridge is near completion after years of great efforts by the incumbent government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The ‘dream project’ is now a reality as our Prime Minister showed the path with courage and bold steps.
Besides, our Bridge Minister supervised the construction work directly making the effort a success,” Mohammed Belayet Hossain, Secretary, Bridges Division, told The New Nation.
He also mentioned that our Prime Minister showed great courage by drawing the project with the country’s own resources.
“Now we successfully managed the huge project with our own resources. It proved the resilience and strength of Bangladesh’s economy.”
The total cost of the mega project stood at Tk 30,192 crore after making several reviews. The estimated cost of the protect was Tk 10,161 crore when it got approval from the ECNEC in 2007.
When asked, the Secretary said, “We (Bridges Division) do not want to take credit of the success alone. We would like to share the success with all the government ministries and agencies. Without their support we may not accomplish the mission.”
Replying to another question, Belayet Hossain, said, the Bridge Authority has set a target to complete the mega project by December 2021 when Bangladesh would celebrate the ‘Golden Jubilee’ of its Independence.
“The construction of the Padma Bridge has already gained momentum. Besides, installation of road and rail slabs on the bridge is also going on simultaneously. It may take one more year to complete all other necessary tasks of the mega infrastructure project Hopefully, the bridge would be opened for traffic by March 2022,” he said.
In December 2015, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the building of the Padma Bridge, the biggest of its kind in the country.
Terming the Padma Bridge a ‘national pride,’ Belayet Hossain, said “Once completed, the bridge will connect 21 districts in the south and south-western regions to the country’s mainland and boost national GDP growth by 1.26 per cent every year.”
Besides connecting Bangladesh’s southwest region to the rest of the country, the bridge is expected to enhance regional trade and collaboration along the Asian highway No. 1 and the Trans-Asian railway network.
The construction of the main bridge is being made by China Major Bridge Engineering Company (MBEC), and Sino Hydro Corporation of China is doing the river management.
