The wait is nearly over. Across the turbulent waters of the mighty Padma, a brilliant new dawn on Saturday will announce the arrival of a new day for Bangladesh.
With the opening of the 6.15km double-deck bridge, a nation’s dream project will finally come to fruition.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to inaugurate the 6.15km Padma Bridge at the Mawa end around 10am. Later, she will cross the bridge and attend a mammoth rally at Elias Ali Khan ghat of Shibchar in Madaripur at 11am.
With just a day left before the 11th largest bridge in the world is inaugurated, the nation looks forward to the new possibilities to be ushered in for Bangladesh’s fast-growing economy.
Once opened to traffic on Sunday morning, the bridge, a milestone for the country's connectivity, will allow hundreds of thousands of people living in the 21 coastal and southwestern districts to enjoy quicker travel to and from the capital Dhaka and beyond.
Freight and public transport movement through the two-tier bridge will see many of the current riverine ferries and other traditional modes of time-consuming transportation becoming redundant.
The Awami League as well as the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) have been taking extensive preparations to celebrate the completion of the mega project. The ruling party expects a million people to be present at the grand rally.
The government has waived tolls on 18 bridges and highways across the country for tomorrow on the occasion of the grand opening.
It has also invited diplomats, dignitaries, among whom is Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, and politicians, including from the BNP, to the inaugural ceremony.
The government has spent nearly Tk80,000 crore so far on developing road and rail connectivity under the much-hyped project.
Establishing a rail link through the lower deck of the bridge and river training work are likely to be completed in June next year, according to project officials.
The toll rates for different types of vehicles have been announced, beginning from Tk100 for motorcycles and Tk750 for cars and jeeps.
Users of the bridge can pay tolls both through digital and manual systems. However, electronic toll collection (ETC) will not start this year, officials have said. As such, people can pay tolls manually for the time being.
On June 7, the government raised bus fares on 13 routes, adding the toll fixed for crossing the Padma Bridge to go to different south-western districts.
The stage is ready
The prime minister recently said that through the construction of the Padma Bridge, the southern part of the country would no longer remain ignored.
The once-neglected Shibchar area on the banks of the Padma has come alive with the government arranging grand celebrations over the opening of the Padma Bridge tomorrow.
To mark the historic occasion, the event management company came up with a unique design for the stage.
The stage is a miniature Padma Bridge, with 10 spans set over 11 pillars. A huge boat will float over the water directly before the stage, giving the impression that it is floating past the bridge, reports Bangla Tribune.
The 150 feet long and 40 feet wide stage is nearly complete along with the multi-tiered security shades, says Canvas Bangladesh Event Management development worker Kabir Hassan.
At least a million people are expected to attend the rally, which will cover over 15 acres of land.
Personnel of the Army, RAB, Police and Fire Service have been deployed as part of multi-tiered security put in place to avoid any untoward incident. Over 150 CCTV cameras have been installed.
A three-square kilometre area around the venue of the rally has been lighted up. An impenetrable blanket of security has been cast over the area.
Madaripur Deputy Commissioner Rahima Khatun said that two mobile hospitals – one 20-bed and two 10-bed – have been opened along with ambulance services.
Moreover, 500 temporary public toilets, 22 temporary toilets for VIPs, drinking water, separate arrangements for women, 26 LED monitors and 500 mikes for those watching from far, and 20 pontoons for those coming through the waterway have been arranged. The mobile phone towers are setting up their own towers.
Pearu Sarder and Sons have been tasked with the surveillance of two square kilometres of the venue.
According to its Manager Mozammel Haque, it has completed most of the security tasks, including the installation of watchtowers and LED monitors.
Road to implementation
Construction of the bridge started on November 26, 2014. The deadline for completion of the work under the contract was November 25, 2018. Later, though, the deadline was extended.
China Major Bridge Company under China Railway Group Limited was contracted for the construction of the main bridge and Sinohydro Corporation Limited of China for the link road, of which the contract value was Tk12,133,39 crore and Tk8,707.81 crore respectively.
The government had acquired 2,693.21 hectares of land for the bridge.
The Awami League government initiated the project in 1998. The pre-feasibility study of the project began in 1999 with government financing. Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of the project on July 4, 2001.
In 2007, the then government approved the project at an estimated Tk10,161 crore.
In 2010, the Awami League government invited pre-qualification tenders while the World Bank signed an agreement of $1.2 billion to finance the project. But as the lending agency withdrew from the project, raising allegations of bribery conspiracy, the premier decided to build the bridge with the country’s own resources.
In 2011, the Ecnec approved a revised cost of Tk20,507.20 crore for the project. In 2016, when the expenditure was increased again by Tk8,286 crore, the total cost stood at Tk28,793.39 crore.
In January of 2017, a Canadian court acquitted all accused of charges of corruption and termed the case baseless as it had been based on speculation, gossip and rumours. In September of the same year, the first span of the 41-span-bridge was installed.