WB’s country director says happy at the completion of Padma Bridge

World Bank’s country director to Bangladesh Mercy Tembon has expressed happiness over the opening of Padma multipurpose bridge.

She expressed hope that the bridge would be a gamechanger for the people of Bangladesh.

Mercy Tembon expressed her feelings while speaking with Prothom Alo after the opening ceremony in Munshiganj’s Mawa end of the bridge.

“World Bank is Bangladesh’s biggest development partner. We acknowledge the importance of this bridge. People of Bangladesh would get immense economic benefit by the bridge,” the WB country director told Prothom Alo.

She said the bridge would help creating employment, slash travel time, boost people’s income, create investment opportunities and decrease poverty.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina today inaugurated the much-awaited Padma Bridge in Munshiganj’s Mawa end.

The bridge, built at a cost of Tk 301.93 billion (30,193.39 crore), will bring massive progress in road connectivity of 21 south and south-western districts with the capital Dhaka and other major cities.

Credit agreements were signed with World Bank, Asian Development Bank, JICA and Islamic Development Bank (IDB) on construction of Padma Bridge between April to June 2011. The World Bank later pulled out from the agreements bringing allegation of corruption. The other development agencies followed suit.

The prime minister Sheikh Hasina later declared to go on with the construction of the Padma bridge with country’s own funding.