The construction of the Padma bridge – the biggest development project in the country’s history – is well underway with soil testing, dredging and river training progressing fast.
According to the Bangladesh Bridges Authority (BBA), around 24% of the project has been implemented until November this year; but physical progress has been 15%. The processes of awarding work orders to consultants and contractors for the six key components of the much-awaited bridge over Padma River have been finished.
As per BBA’s progress report, 28.5% of the approach road at the Mawa point and 20.5% of that at the Jajira point have been completed and the development of the service area is moving fast.
The works for the infrastructure of the main bridge, river training and consultancy – the major components of much-talked-about project – started in full swing this month and all the works are progressing as quickly as expected.
While visiting the project recently, the Dhaka Tribune reporter saw project officials with helmets on their heads giving directions to the workers for soil testing and building the connecting roads.
A construction yard has been built on a land of around one square kilometre area at the Kumarbhogh village. Two mixer machines and a set of equipment could be seen at the site, where around 500 workers had been working. Some were crashing bricks and others erecting a building.
Workers could be seen working at the Jajira point in Shariyatpur district and Shibchar point in Madaripur district as well.
Shafiqul Islam, director of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project, told the Dhaka Tribune: “The work will be definitely completed in four years that is by 2018.”
On June 17, the government signed an agreement with the China Major Bridge Engineering Company (CMBEC), for the construction of around 6.15km main part of the bridge. However, on September 10, another Chinese firm Sinohydro Corporation Limited was appointed for the river training work.
Both these firms have been held responsible for delaying project works in Bangladesh; Sinohydro delayed the upgradation of the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway and CMBEC delayed the upgradation work of the Joydebpur-Mymensingh Highway.
The cost of the main infrastructure of the bridge is Tk12,133 crore and the river training work, the second most costly component, will cost Tk8,707 crore. According to respective agreements, both projects are supposed to be completed in 48 months.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges inked a Tk383.15 crore agreement with joint-venture South Korean company Korean Expressway Corporation to supervise the construction of the main bridge and river training as a consultant. The Bangladesh Army is also working as a consultant in the project.
In 2007, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) ratified the Tk10,162 crore project cost, although in 2011, the cost was re-estimated and nearly doubled to Tk20,570.
Because of a four-year delay after the World Bank pulled out of the project raising allegations of corruption, the cost of the project, now to be implemented solely with government funds, has increase by around Tk4,500 crore from the current estimate of Tk20,507 crore.
At present, the total estimated cost of the Padma bridge project stands over Tk25,000 crore including the shifting of a ferry terminal, river site protection and security issues, officials said.
Local company Momen Builders is now building an approach road for Tk193 crore. The firm is also building a service area at a cost of Tk209 crore.
According to the BBA, the government has already allocated Tk8,100 crore for its fast-track Padma bridge project in the budget for the current fiscal year and have already spent more than Tk6,000 crore.
The district administrations of Munshiganj, Shariyatpur and Madaripur have already received Tk1,070 for distributing among people who have sacrificed their lands for the bridge project.
The government has “pre-paid” 15% of the total costs to the CMBEC and Sinohydro. Around 70% of the cost will be paid by Dollars, which will be supplied by the state-owned owned Janata Bank.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader told the Dhaka Tribune recently: “I have assured people that each of the contracts for the construction of the bridge, river training, etc will be done maintaining transparency and accountability and avoiding any kind of corruption.”
He said: “The government needs help from people for constructing the country’s biggest bridge with its own fund. By 2018, vehicles and trains will be using the bridge.”
Around 3,500 people are currently working for the bridge. Of them, 500 are from China and the rest from Bangladesh. Over 200 Chinese engineers, officials and laborers are now working for the project. In January and February, another 6,000 workers will join in.
The Mawa ferry terminal has already been been shifted to the Shimuliya village. Soil testing has already started at the Mawa point.
Abdul Kader, executive engineer of the project, told the Dhaka Tribune: “A Chinese firm had already brought construction materials to the Mawa point; some materials are waiting at the Chittagong port.”
He said: “Piling drive hammers are now being made in Germany. Those will be brought to Bangladesh by sea on December 27 and reach the constriction site in mid-January .”
Project officials said the engineer are now testing the condition of the soil, following which the piling will start.
Abdul Kader said: “Although modern technologies are being used in the project, we are taking some added time so that the soil testing can be done properly.”
The bridge will be two-storied – the uppoer one for vehicles and the lower deck for trains.
Officials said the the Padma bridge is one of the priority projects of the government and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is always kept updated about the progress.
They said the project is now a prestige issue for the government after the World Bank quit from it. The government also thinks the project, when completed, will give it a much needed political upperhand.
The feasibility study was done with support from Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica). The Asian Development Bank (ADB) helped in drawing the design.
The World Bank (WB), Jica, ADB and the Islamic Development Bank were the initial investors. But when the WB decided to pull out, the other three also quit, plunging the bridge into uncertainty. Then the government decided to build the bridge with its own money.
