The government is set to receive on December 2 a report on a new cantonment and security installations, proposed adjacent to the Padma bridge project, from the Planning Commission and the engineering chief of Bangladesh Army.
The new cantonment will be built on one side of the Padma bridge while a state of the art surveillance station on the other at a cost of Tk1,774 crore over the next four years, according to official documents.
The construction will be carried out in two phases — before and after construction — because of the crisis of funds. It is likely to be built by June 2018.
The sudden increase in land prices around the Padma bridge site led to the decision that land acquisition would be in two phases.
Earlier, the Defence Ministry had sought Tk1,200 crore for the same cantonment but the cost has gone up since as have prices of land and construction. It says 325.52 acre land — 75.75 acres in Mawa and another 249.77 acres in Jajira — is needed to set up the cantonment.
The Bridges Division has 115.52 acre land (15.75 at Mawa and 99.77 acres at Jajira) in possession from that acquired for the bridge project. It may be used for setting up the new cantonment.
Minutes of a meeting titled “Establishment of 99 Composite Brigade for Security and Technical Support of Padma Multi-purpose Bridge Project” revealed the decisions.
The meeting, presided over by Planning Minister AHM Mostafa Kamal, on November 12 saw top officials of the Bangladesh Army and the Bridges Division in attendance.
Four decisions were taken at the meeting regarding the cantonment when the Planning Commission and the army’s engineering chief were asked to submit a report on design and estimated costs of the cantonment project on December 2.
It was decided that a composite brigade would be established with the least number of personnel on the least possible space.
The cantonment would have barracks for more than 3,300 soldiers, homes for 560 families of soldiers and 81 families of officers, an officers’ mess and a mosque.
In the meeting, the Bridges Division secretary said the Padma bridge construction site was around areas with high population density. As a result they had acquired as little land as possible.
The planning minister said the proposal to set up the new cantonment was not only related to the security of the bridge alone, but also of the country.
“We have followed the directives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the line with our limited resources,” he told the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday.
Hasina on September 19 last year inaugurated 99 Composite Brigade comprising 20 Engineering Construction Battalion, 58 East Bengal Regiment and 34 Bangladesh Infantry Regiment to monitor the implementation of the Padma bridge project and maintain security.