67pc of Padma Bridge completed: Quader
Sixty-seven percent of the overall work of the long-awaited Padma Bridge project has been completed, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said yesterday.
Seventy-six percent work of the main bridge and 55 percent work of river training have been completed till April 30, he said. Work on all connecting roads have also been completed, he added.
Quader, also general secretary of Awami League, shared the update while briefing journalists on different projects at Setu Bhaban in the capital’s Banani.
The minister said 12 among the 41 spans of Padma Bridge have already been established and the 13th will be installed in one or two days.
Once constructed, the bridge will connect the capital to 21 southern districts through road and railway.
According to documents the authority provided to the journalists yesterday, work on 236 piles out of 262 have already been completed and the rest will be completed within July.
Among 42 piers, work on 25 have been fully completed and six others will be completed within June, the documents show.
Three kilometres of river training, out of 13km, have so far been completed and four more will be done within December, it said.
The minister said another important project -- Karnaphuli Tunnel -- witnessed 38 percent progress till April 30.
The tunnel -- starting at the Naval Academy point in Patenga -- will connect Anwara on the other side and enhance the Dhaka-Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar national highway network.
The 3.4km four-lane tunnel will be constructed at the cost of Tk 9,880.40 crore, he said.
Regarding construction of the much-talked about 47km Dhaka Elevated Expressway, the minister said work is on in full swing as the problem regarding funding is over.
The expressway will be constructed in three phases from Airport to Kutubkhali on Dhaka-Chattogram highway via Kuril, Banani-Mohakhali-Tejgaon-Moghbazar-Kamalapur-Sayedabad-Jatrabari.
The minister said work on a part -- from airport to Kamalapur -- of the expressway would be completed by December next year.
Quader said feasibility study to construct a subway (underground metro) in Dhaka city is underway and would be completed within December.
Besides, the minister said they have taken an initiative to conduct feasibility study for building another tunnel under Jamuna river to connect Gaibandha and Jamalpur. It would start upon receiving foreign funding, he added.
Bridges Division Senior Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam and other top officials were present at the briefing.
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