Padma Bridge: Last span to be installed today

GBNEWS24 DESK//

The last and 41st span of the 6.15km Padma Multi-Purpose Bridge will be installed today (Thursday) if the weather remains favourable and no technical problem occurs.

“With installation of the 41st span, a total of 6.15 km (6,150 meters) of the dream double-layer Padma Bridge will become visible,” an official at Bangladesh Bridge Authority in Dhaka said on Wednesday. It is going to be the longest bridge in Bangladesh, the second longest in the Indo-Gangetic Plain after Bhupen Hazarika Setu in Assam and the longest over Ganges in terms of both span and the total length.

The official said the 41st span (2-F) will be put on the pillars 12 and 13 at the Mawa-end in Munshiganj. The multi-purpose Padma Bridge is expected to be opened in 2021.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader earlier said the GDP (Gross domestic product) will increase by 1.50 to 2 percent after completion of the Padma Bridge.

“Not only people of the region but also people of the entire country will be benefitted from the bridge… The GDP will increase by 1.50 percent to 2 percent after completion of the Padma Bridge,” he said.

According to the Padma Bridge authorities, the first ever 6.15km long double-layer bridge with a total of 41 spans will become visible on December 10. The Padma Bridge is the largest construction infrastructure since the independence of Bangladesh, which was initiated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The construction work began in December, 2014 with own fund.

The construction of the main bridge is being carried out by China Major Bridge Engineering Company (MBEC), a Chinese contractor Company, and the river management is being done by Sino Hydro Corporation of China.

Earlier, Project Director of Padma Multipurpose Bridge Md Shafiqul Islam said that they are hopeful about setting up the remaining last span by December, adding, “Then the main structure of the mega bridge will be visible.”