Padma Bridge to be inaugurated on 25 June
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Wednesday
July 06, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
WEDNESDAY, JULY 06, 2022
Padma Bridge to be inaugurated on 25 June

Bangladesh

TBS Report 
24 May, 2022, 01:05 pm
Last modified: 24 May, 2022, 10:07 pm

Related News

  • Five places in Southern Bangladesh you could visit via Padma Bridge
  • Padma Bridge opens up investment spree in south
  • PM Hasina visits Gopalganj via Padma Bridge
  • PM to visit Gopalganj through Padma Bridge on Monday
  • No possibility of allowing motorcycles on Padma Bridge before Eid: Cabinet Secretary

Padma Bridge to be inaugurated on 25 June

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had rejected the Bridges Division’s proposal to name the long awaited bridge after her

TBS Report 
24 May, 2022, 01:05 pm
Last modified: 24 May, 2022, 10:07 pm
Photo: Mumit M
Photo: Mumit M

A new era is about to be ushered in through much pomp and many celebrations.

The two-decade journey of the Padma Bridge dream will finally come to a close on 10am on 25 June when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurates the mega infrastructure. The move will change the fortunes of 19 districts in the south and south-west of the country.

Starting in 1999 with a pre-feasibility study, construction of the bridge, which has since generated numerous headlines, has had its share of delays and even courted controversy.

But the inauguration date, announced by Awami League General Secretary and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader after a meeting with the PM on Tuesday noon, has put to rest all speculations.

The minister said the bridge would be named after the river and not any person.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had rejected the Bridges Division's proposal to name the long awaited bridge after her.

The construction of the 6.15 kilometre bridge was supposed to start in 2015, but cancellation of foreign aid for it and an increasing depth of the river, among other complications, delayed the work.

But for now, all that can be forgotten, as those involved with the project get ready to paint the country green and red.

According to sources, the Bridges Division is going to organise nationwide celebrations to commemorate the inauguration of the Padma Bridge, the country's largest infrastructure.

The main event will be held at Mawa and Jajira on both sides of the Padma Bridge.

Md Monjur Hossain, secretary of the Bridges Division, told The Business Standard that the completion of the Padma Bridge was a great achievement and various events will be organised to celebrate it.

He said 18 committees have already been formed for the purpose and they had already begun work. The announcement of the final date for the inauguration by the prime minister would speed up the work, he added.

Engineer Shafiqul Islam, who has been the director of the project since November 2011, said the celebration was secondary, while the joy of bringing the project to its final stages after facing almost insurmountable challenges was a cause for great joy.  

He said the work was only possible through the hard work of the government, and the bridge engineers, officials and workers.

Thanking those concerned, he said no major work was left anymore in the construction of the bridge.

The Padma Bridge project is being implemented at a cost of Tk30,193.39 crore with almost 100% internal funding.

Toll rate confirmed

The government has already finalised the toll rate for the Padma Bridge crossing in a gazette.

A motorcyclist will have to pay Tk100, while the toll is Tk2,400 for a large bus with three axles and Tk2,800 for a medium truck.

The toll for a car or an SUV has been set at Tk750; pickup van at Tk1,200; microbus at Tk1,300; minibus (up to 31 seats) at Tk1,400 and medium bus (32 seats or more) at Tk2,000.

In addition, a mini truck (up to five tonnes) will pay Tk1,600; medium truck (5-8 tonnes) Tk2,100; Tk2,800 for a truck carrying 8-11 tonnes; Tk5,500 for a truck (up to three axle) and Tk6,000 for those with up to four axles.

An additional Tk1,500 will be charged for each axle for a vehicle having more than four axles.

The toll rate will be implemented on the Dhaka-Mawa Bhanga Expressway from the day of inauguration of the bridge.

The project was approved by the ECNEC on 20 August 2008 at a cost of Tk 10,162 crore, to be completed by 2015. As no work was done, the first amendment was approved on 11 January 2011 at a cost of Tk20,506 crore.

At the time, the World Bank pledged $1,200 million in loans for the $2,900 million project. In addition, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed loan agreements worth $615 million, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) $415 million and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) $140 million.

If the loans had been disbursed, then 81.72% of the bridge construction cost would come as foreign aid.

At one stage, the World Bank, the lead financier, announced that it was withdrawing from financing the project, citing allegations of corruption.

Although the company later agreed to finance the project, it came with various conditions.

On June 17, 2014, the Bridges Division signed an agreement with China Major Bridge Engineering Co Ltd Company to build the main bridge. Work on the project started on 26 November of that year. The first span of the bridge was installed on 30 September of the following year. The last span of the bridge was laid on 10 December last year.

During this period, the cost of the project increased to Tk30,193.39 crore in several phases.

The pre-feasibility study for the construction of the Padma Bridge was carried out in 1999 with the government's own funding. The final feasibility study was done with the funding of JICA for the period 2003-2005. The bridge was designed with ADB funding.

Work on the main bridge has progressed 98%, revealed the recent progress report.

In all, the progress of the Padma Bridge project is 95%, highlighted in the report of the Bridges Division.

The length of the Padma Bridge (main bridge) is 6.15km. The two-way flyover (viaduct) is 3.8km. In all, the length of the bridge is 9.83km.

The bridge will make it easier and faster to travel to the south and southwest of the country.

In addition to facilitating movement, the Padma Bridge will have a positive impact on the economy.

According to a survey, once the Padma Bridge project is implemented, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) will increase at the rate of 1.23%. The GDP of the south-western region of the country will grow by 2.3%.

Top News

Padma Bridge

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • The government controls traffic growth with a series of quotas, taxes and duties that can push up the cost of a car.Photographer: Nicky Loh/Bloomberg
    Singapore's sky-high car prices are warning for global cities
  • Muhammad A (Rumee) Ali
    Rumee Ali leaves AB Bank
  • File photo
    PM urges countrymen not to illuminate buildings, markets to save electricity

MOST VIEWED

  • Build Dhaka East-West Elevated Expressway, relocate kitchen markets: PM
    Build Dhaka East-West Elevated Expressway, relocate kitchen markets: PM
  • Lee Hyun-seung (third from right), head of Korea Expressway Corp.'s Overseas Project Division, shakes hands with Quazi Muhammad Ferdous, head of the Bridge Authority of Bangladesh, after signing a contract on June 29 (local time).
    Korean company to oversee N8 Expressway in Bangladesh
  • Padma Bridge from satellite. Photo: Screengrab
    Padma Bridge from satellite 
  • Photo: Collected
    Road accident kills student near Shikkha Bhaban
  • Govt to start inspecting Dhaka shopping malls before Eid
    Govt to start inspecting Dhaka shopping malls before Eid
  • Hundreds of motorcycles, cars, buses and other vehicles were in a queue at the toll plaza of the Padma Bridge on Sunday as the bridge drew a massive number of visitors on the first day after its inauguration. PHOTO: MUMIT M
    Padma Bridge: First day sees over Tk2cr toll collection

Related News

  • Five places in Southern Bangladesh you could visit via Padma Bridge
  • Padma Bridge opens up investment spree in south
  • PM Hasina visits Gopalganj via Padma Bridge
  • PM to visit Gopalganj through Padma Bridge on Monday
  • No possibility of allowing motorcycles on Padma Bridge before Eid: Cabinet Secretary

Features

The sea beach in Kuakata. Photo: Syed Mehedy Hasan

Five places in Southern Bangladesh you could visit via Padma Bridge

7h | Explorer
Genex Infosys Limited is the country's largest call centre with more than 2,000 seats and full-set equipment. Photo: Courtesy

How domestic demand made Genex Infosys a BPO industry leader

8h | Panorama
The OPEC+ group of 23 oil-exporting countries met virtually on Thursday. Photo: Bloomberg

OPEC+ did its job, but don’t expect it to disappear

1d | Panorama
Mirza Abdul Kader Sardar with AK Fazlul Haque, Chief Minister of Bengal, at Haque's reception at the Lion Cinema, Dhaka, 1941. Photo: Collected

Panchayats: Where tradition clings to survival

1d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Is Donbas Putin’s next target?

Is Donbas Putin’s next target?

24m | Videos
Hajj Journey: it took more than one year to complete the Hajj

Hajj Journey: it took more than one year to complete the Hajj

1h | Videos
Photo: TBS

Cristiano Ronaldo looking for a new challenge

6h | Videos
Tufan, Sultan catch attention of the buyers

Tufan, Sultan catch attention of the buyers

6h | Videos

Most Read

1
Photo: Collected
Africa

Uganda discovers gold deposits worth 12 trillion USD

2
TBS Illustration
Education

Universities may launch online classes again after Eid

3
Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'
Splash

Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'

4
Build Dhaka East-West Elevated Expressway, relocate kitchen markets: PM
Bangladesh

Build Dhaka East-West Elevated Expressway, relocate kitchen markets: PM

5
File Photo: BSS
Energy

India pulls out of LoC funding for part of Rooppur power transmission work

6
Illustration: TBS
Interviews

‘No Bangladeshi company has the business model for exporting agricultural product’

EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab
BENEATH THE SURFACE
A customer checks a knife at a blacksmith’s shop at the capital’s Karwan Bazar. Knives and other Qurbani tools are in huge demand as the country prepares to celebrate Eid-Ul-Azha. Photo: Rajib Dhar

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net