Staff Correspondent
Construction of the proposed Padma Bridge will start in 2011 and be completed in three years to connect the southwest region with Dhaka, Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain said yesterday.
He said the process to appoint a consultant to finalise the design of the bridge will be completed by this month and then the tender will be floated. After the bridge is constructed, the gross domestic product of the southwest will increase by 2 percent, he added.
“We hope that the construction work will start in 2011 and the government is determined to finish it in three years,” he told reporters after a meeting with the officials of Bangladesh Bridge Authority at the Shetu Bhaban.
An estimated Tk 10,161 crore will be spent on the Padma Bridge, which will be the longest bridge in the country with 5.58km length and 25m width, he added.
Immediately after assuming office, Abul Hossain announced that he would take steps on priority basis to construct a bridge on the Padma.
Yesterday he said the prime minister asked him to finish the construction of the bridge before expiry of the Awami League government so that it can inaugurate the bridge.
“The PM has instructed me to finish appointment of a design consultant by this month,” he added.
The bridge on the Padma connecting Mawa in Munshiganj with Jazira in Madaripur is also likely to contribute hugely to the functioning of the Mongla Port in Bagerhat, the second seaport of the country that fails to attract cargo ships owing to poor communications.
As per the initial proposal, the bridge will have a rail line that will eventually become part of a proposed trans-Asian rail link.
The decision to construct the bridge was taken back in 2001 but dilly-dally over selecting the construction sites delayed the process.
Communications ministry officials said the government is negotiating with donors like the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation for financial assistance for constructing the bridge.
Courtesy: thedailystar.net
