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Padma multipurpose bridge, which is the longest of its kind in Bangladesh, has been inaugurated. Spanning across the turbulent Padma River, the bridge was commissioned by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. This comes after approximately eight years of construction, delays, political conflicts, high costs and graft allegations.
The opening of the bridge is a key infrastructure goal by Hasina and has been billed by her government as the jewel in its crown. The bridge reportedly shows the grit, determination and resilience of the administration in the face of international pressure and domestic criticism.
A brief about the Padma multipurpose bridge
Construction of the six-kilometre Padma multipurpose bridge began in November 2015. China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group build the bridge after winning the contract in 2014. Reportedly, other than being the longest in Bangladesh, the bridge is also the longest built by a Chinese firm outside China.
The project’s main aim is to connect the country’s southwestern region with the capital, Dhaka, via road and rail. The project cost of US$ 3.86bn. It was entirely financed by the government of the South Asian country. This is after the World Bank and other global lending agencies pulled out of the project.
The banks pulled out of the project due to a corruption scandal involving SNC-Lavalin, the project’s initial contractor. The Canadian construction company was accused of bribing officials overseeing the project.
Significance of the project
According to Economist Mustafizur Rahman, the bridge will help grow Bangladesh’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 1.3% annually. It will also increase jobs, service sector activity and tourism, especially in the southwestern region.
Project overview
The Padma Multipurpose Bridge is a road-rail bridge that is being constructed across Padma or Podda, which is a major river in Bangladesh and Indi, and the main distributary of the Ganges or Ganga River, to connect Louhajong, Munshiganj to Shariatpur and Madaripur, linking the south-west region of the South Asian country, to northern and eastern regions.
Designed by a team that included experts from Northwest Hydraulic Consultants, SMEC International, ACE Consultants, Aas Jakobsen, and HR Wallingford, led by Maunsell AECOM, the New Zealand subsidiary business of AECOM, the bridge is considered to be the most challenging construction project in the history of Bangladesh.
It is an approximately 6.15km long and 21.1m wide double deck composite steel truss structure with a total of 41 piers of a length of 150m. The upper deck of the bridge will carry a four-lane highway, while the lower deck will have a rail line that is planned for construction in the future, a gas transmission pipeline, an optic-fibre cable, and power transmission lines. |
