Padma Bridge project included in China’s BRI

The Padma Bridge, 25 meters in width and 10 km in length, building over the Padma River, is one of the amazing projects under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The China Daily recently published a list of 20 amazing projects under the BRI in which the Padma Bridge was among the list including Colombo Port City, Gwadar Port in South Asia.
Around six years ago, Chinese president Xi Jinping announced the Belt and Road Initiative and so far 125 countries and 29 international organisations have signed 173 cooperation agreements under the initiative framework.

In June 2016, China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group Co Ltd was awarded a $1.55-billion contract by the government of Bangladesh to build the core structure of the Padma Bridge.

The bridge is the country's largest infrastructure project, as well as the largest foreign bridge project undertaken by Chinese companies in terms of total cost.

Once completed, travel time between the capital, Dhaka, and the southern city of Khulna will be shortened to about three hours from 13 hours.

With the installation of the 150-meter long span, the 7th span among the 41 spans has been installed on the 6.15-km bridge and about 1,050 m of the bridge is now visible.

In December 2015, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the main works of Padma Bridge project, the biggest of its kind for the country, by unveiling its foundation plaque.

In June 2014, the Bangladeshi government awarded China Major Bridge Engineering Company Limited a 1.55-billion-U.S.-dollar contract to build core structure of the Padma Bridge project.

Apart from connecting nearly 30 million people in Bangladesh's southwest region to the rest of the country, the bridge will enhance regional trade and collaboration along the Asian highway No. 1 and the Trans-Asian railway network.