Replacing Hardinge Bridge: Railways minister seeks Japan’s help

Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan yesterday sought assistance from Japan to build a new bridge to replace the century-old Hardinge Bridge in Pabna.

The minister made the request when the Japanese High Commissioner in Dhaka Ito Naoki met him at Sujan’s office in the capital’s Railway Bhaban.

“It is a very old structure, and we have to change it. We discussed several major structures with which Japan can assist, and then the minister mentioned Hardinge Bridge,” Railways Secretary Mofazzel Hossain told The Daily Star last night.

The two also discussed the proposed Bangabandhu Rail Bridge over Jamuna River, Multi-modal Transport Hub centring Kamalapur Railway Station and Metro Rail projects, he said.

Japan is funding the under-construction Mass Rapid Transit-6 -- popularly known as metro rail -- and is expected to invest in the Bangabandhu Rail Bridge and Kamalapur Multi-modal Transport Hub.

The Hardinge Bridge, which has already recorded 100 years of use and counting, is one of many structures built by the British during their rule. The bridge shares a significant history of Bangladesh, and specifically, of Pabna.