Padma bridge not in Dec, cost increases

The cost of Padma bridge was estimated at Tk 101.61 billion on 28 August 2007 when the caretaker government approved the project.

More recently, it stood at Tk 287.93 billion after a series of cost revisions, official records say.

The cost of constructing the bridge is to increase again as the authorities are to acquire additional land from the local people, officials said.

“The cost of the Padma Bridge Project will rise further,” project director Md Shafiqul Islam told Prothom Alo, without detailing the reasons behind the cost escalation.

Project experts have further said the 6.15 km multipurpose bridge is hardly likely to be completed within the stipulated time.

This bridge, that will link the southwest of the country to the northern and eastern regions, was scheduled to be completed in December 2018.

An official at the bridges division said the cost of the Padma bridge project will rise by about Tk 15 billion. It has sought Tk 43.96 billion for the Padma bridge project in the 2018-19 budget.

The cost will increase due to acquisition of additional land.

It had been decided earlier that land would be rented to keep place for the construction materials.

But a section of local people backed by political elements are putting pressure on the officials to acquire the land at a high price, the official said.

“We have no alternative but to acquire the land,” the official said, seeking anonymity.

After revisions, the cost of Padma bridge stands at Tk 287.93 billion.

On 28 August 2007, the caretaker government passed the Padma bridge project to be implemented at a cost of Tk 101.61 billion.

After coming to power in 2009, the Awami League government added a railway line to the project. In 2011, the project cost was revised to Tk 205.07 billion.

In 2016, the project was further revised to Tk 287.93 billion.

Planning minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told reporters at that time that the cost was earlier projected without the detailed design.

According to the bridges division, around 55 per cent of the construction work has been completed till May 2018. China Major Bridge Engineering Construction Company is implementing the project as the main contractor.

Head of the Padma bridge project expert team professor Jamilur Reza Chowdhury said it is in no way possible to finish the construction work by December 2018.

“We have brought changes in the design of foundation pillars and the number of pillars has also increased,” Jamilur Reza Chowdhury told Prothom Alo.

Officials said the soft soil on the riverbed created problems for some of the pillars.

Some 22 pillars have been redesigned and the number of pillars has been increased from 240 to 262.

“We are facing problems in carrying out river training. It may take a little more time,” said an official.

About missing the deadline, project director Md Shafiqul Islam said, “We have been working on the extension of the schedule.”

The two-level Padma bridge stretches from Mawa in Munshiganj to Jajira in Shariatpur.

Trains will run on the steel spans which will be installed on the pillars. Vehicles will run above that.

So far, four spans of the Padma bridge have been installed, making 600 metres of the bridge visible.

In 2012, the implementation of Padma bridge faced a major setback when the World Bank had cancelled its $1.2 billion credit for the project, raising corruption allegations.

The government then decided to build the mega project with its own funds.