The last span (41st span) of the long-cherished Padma Multi-Purpose Bridge was installed today (Thursday), making the entire bridge visible. “The last span of the bridge was put on 12 and 13 pillars around 11:00am and with installation of the 41st span, a total of 6.15 km (6,150 meters) main structure of the Padma Bridge has become visible,” an official familiar with the process told BSS today. State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury was present during the installation of the span. He also visited Mawa dredging channel this morning. Earlier, Project Director of Padma Multipurpose Bridge Md Shafiqul Islam said that they are hopeful about setting up of the remaining last span by December, adding, “Then the main structure of the mega bridge will be visible.” The Padma Bridge is the largest construction infrastructure since the independence of Bangladesh initiated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The construction work began in December, 2014 with government’s own fund. The construction of the main bridge is being carried out by China Major Bridge Engineering Company (MBEC), a Chinese contractor Company, and the river management is being done by Sino Hydro Corporation of China. Padma Bridge is expected to change not only the socioeconomic structure of southern parts of Bangladesh, but also create positive impacts on the whole economy of the country. It will also connect many countries of South and Southeast Asia and contribute to communication, trade, industry, tourism and many other sectors in various ways. Source: BSS AH

The number 38 span of Padma Bridge has been installed on pillar number 1 and 2 at the Mawa end of Munsiganj. With this the 5,700 meters of the bridge is visible at the moment. Dewan Md. Abdul Quader, the executive engineer and project manager (main bridge) of the under-construction bridge confirmed that the span was installed at around 2:30 pm on Saturday. Earlier the 37th span of the bridge was installed on November 12. The 38th span was installed on the ninth day after that. Only three spans are remaining to install. There are schedules of installing one span in this month and other two in December. The span installing works are nearing to an end. On the other hand at the Jajira end of the bridge works of roadway slab and railway slab are going on. Mentionable, Padma Bridge construction work began in December 2014. The 6.15 kilometers long double deck bridge is being constructed with concrete and steel. Chinese contractor firm China railway major bridge engineering group company limited (MBEC) is constructing the main bridge while another Chinese firm Sino hydro corporation is performing the river training work. AH

The 37th span of the Padma Bridge was installed this morning, six days after setting up the previous one, making 5,550 meters of the main structure visible. “After installation of the 37th span today, we are hopeful that the rest four spans are likely to be set up by December 10 and through this, the construction of 6.15-kilometre long bridge will be completed,” said Dewan M Abdul Kader, executive engineer of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge. The official said the 38th span will be installed on November 16 and the 39th on November 23. On December 2, the 40th span and the remaining one will be installed on December 10, added the official. The 37th span bearing number ‘2-C’ was put on the pillars no 9 and 10 at Mawa point. A specialized floating crane picked up the span from Mawa’s Kumarbhog Construction around 10:45am this morning and it was transported to the designated poles, said the official. The 6.15-km long double-layer bridge will have a total of 41 spans which would be installed on 42 poles — 21 poles at Mawa site and other 21 poles at Jajira point and all the poles have already become visible. Construction of the Padma Bridge began in December 2014. With the installation of 37th and 38th spans in September 2016, the structure became visible for the first time. The construction of the main bridge is being carried out by China Major Bridge Engineering Company (MBEC), a Chinese contractor, while Sino Hydro Corporation, another Chinese company, is working on river management. Meanwhile, Abdul Monem Ltd has built two connecting roads and the infrastructure for the bridge. The structure of the bridge is being constructed with concrete and steel. The multi-purpose Padma Bridge is expected to be opened in 2021. Source: BSS AH

The 36th span of the Padma Bridge has been installed this morning five days after setting up the previous one, making a 5400-meter or 5.4-km stretch of the main structure visible. “After installation of 36th span around 9.42am, we are hopeful that the rest five spans are likely to be set up by December 10 and through this, the construction of 6.15-kilometre long bridge will be completed,” said Dewan M Abdul Kader, executive engineer of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge. On November 11, he said the 37th span will be installed on the bridge, 38th on November 16 and the 39th on November 23. On December 2, the 40th span and the remaining one will be installed on December 10, added the official. Meanwhile, the 36th span bearing number ‘1B’ was put on the pillars no 2 and 3 at Mawa point as the span was near the Mawa point. A specialised floating crane picked up the span from Mawa’s Kumarbhog Construction Yard on Thursday morning and transported it to the designated poles at 12.30pm, according to the official. Earlier, on October 31, the 35th span of the Padma Bridge was installed, bringing a total of over 5.2 kilometers of the huge structure into view. The 6.15-km long double-layered bridge will have a total of 41 spans which would be installed on 42 poles — 21 poles at Mawa site and other 21 poles at Jajira point as all the poles have already become visible. Construction of the Padma Bridge began in December 2014. With the installation of 37th and 38th spans in September 2016, the structure became visible for the first time. The construction of the main bridge is being carried out by China Major Bridge Engineering Company (MBEC), a Chinese contractor, while Sino Hydro Corporation, another Chinese company, is working on river management. Meanwhile, Abdul Monem Ltd has built two connecting roads and the infrastructure for the bridge. The structure of the bridge is being constructed with concrete and steel. The multi-purpose Padma Bridge is expected to be opened in 2021. Source: BSS AH

The 18th span of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge was installed on Wednesday at Mawa point making 2.7 kilometers visible out of total 6.15km of the main structure of the bridge. “With the installation of ‘3-E’ span on the 17th and the 18th pillars at the Mawa point, the construction work of about 2700 meters (2.7 kilometres) of the main structure of this mega bridge has been completed,” said Engineer Humayun Kabir of the bridge project. Earlier, the 3-E span was brought in front of the 17th and 18th pillars this morning by a floating crane from construction yard-1 at Mawa point where the span was kept temporarily, he said. After completion of all other works, the span was installed on the pillars at around 1.03 pm, he added. On November 26, the 17th span of the bridge was installed on the 22nd and the 23rd pillars. According to the officials, there is a plan to install three more spans, including ‘4-C’ and ‘3-F’, within this month as five spans remain ready in the construction yard for installation. A total of 17 spans out of 33, which have come from China, have been installed. Along with the spans installation, construction work of roadway slabs and railway slabs is also progressing simultaneously, the officials said. A total of 41 spans will be installed on 42 concrete pillars to complete the bridge. According to the project details, the construction of the 6.15-kilometre long Padma Bridge is going on in full swing with the target to complete it as soon as possible. On October 14, 2018, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina unveiled the name plaque of Padma Bridge Toll Plaza at the Mawa end. According to experts, the national economy is expected to witness 1.2 percent GDP growth rate, while 0.84 percent poverty will be reduced every year after the completion of the bridge to be built with an estimated cost of Taka 30,193.39 crore. The first span of the Padma Bridge was installed on September 30, 2017. Source: BSS AH

The 38 meter long railway span was placed on Padma bridge at its Zajira end. Through this the viaduct of the Padma bridge is visible at the moment. The J-3 railway span was placed between pier number 20 and 21 at the Zajira end after 27 days of efforts starting from April 20. There are total 6 rail girders in this span. Padma bridge project Assistant Engineer Humayun Kabir confirmed the news and said, total 14 spans- 7 at the Mawa end and 7 at the Zajira end will be placed. Of those there are 84 rail girders. He also said, girder placing work of J-4 span between pier number 21 and 22 will begin Saturday at the Zajira end. Railway track will be installed over these spans. Most of the works for such 14 spans have been completed. Meanwhile, roadway slabs and railway slabs have been installed. So far 312 railway slabs and 16 roadway slabs have been placed on the bridge. More 2 thousand railway slabs and 8 hundred roadway slabs are also prepared to be installed. AH        

The ninth span of the 6.15-kilometre Padma Bridge was installed on the 34th and the 35th pillars at Jajira end in Shariatpur district. With the installation of the ninth span about one and half kilometers from the both end of the mega bridge is visible at the moment. Deputy Assistant Engineer of Padma Bridge project Humayun Kabir said that the span was installed at around 8:15 am on Friday. He said, the span could not be possible to install on Thursday due to technical problem. With installing the span on Friday total 1 thousand 200 meters of the Padma Bridge is visible at the Jajira end. He also said, the ninth span was ready for installing at the Kumarbhog construction yard of Mawa. On Wednesday at 8:55 am 3 thousand 600 tons capacity crane Tian moved for Jajira after taking the 150 meters long and 3 thousand 140 tons weight span from the construction yard. Earlier, on September 30, 2017 the first span was installed between pillar number 37 and 38, the second span was installed on January 28, 2018 between pillar number 38 and 39, the third span on March 11 between pillar number 39 and 40, the fourth on May 13 between pillar number 40 and 41, the fifth span on June 29 between 41 and 42, the sixth span was installed on January 23, 2019 between pillar number 36 and 37 and the seventh span was installed between pillar number 35 and 36 on February 20. Besides, another span was installed between pillar number 4 and 5 at the Mawa end. On Friday the ninth span was installed at Naudoba in Jajira end. The number of total pillars in Padma Bridge is 42 and total 41 spans will be installed. The distance between one pillar to another is 150 meters. AH      

Eighth span of Padma Bridge will be installed tomorrow (Wednesday). The span was carried with help of a crane from Mawa construction yard to Jajira end. The span will be installed between pillar number 35 and 36. Confirming the information Padma Bridge Project Director Shafiqul Islam said, the span carried with help of a 3 thousand 600 hundred tons capacity crane from Mawa to Jajira end at around 8 am on Tuesday. It will be installed on the pillars on Wednesday. Engineers of the bridge project said, at the Jajira end 6 spans were installed on the pillars number 42 to 36. And at the Mawa end one span was installed between pillar number 4 and 5. Total 63 percent works have been completed of the total project. From now one span each will be installed in every month. The Padma Bridge construction work began in 2015. The 6.15 kilometers long bridge construction work was scheduled to complete in last December. But due to natural adversity the bridge will be opened for traffic at the end of 2020. By this time 7 spans were installed and 34 remaining. The bridge will get its complete shape with 41 spans and 42 pillars. The bridge construction cost is 33 thousand crore taka. AH   

After the election the progress work of the Padma bridge is going on with new spirit. The number 6 span of the bridge will be placed within January 15. As a result 900 meters of the bridge will be visible. Engineers said, the work is going on according to the plan of placing at least one span per month. Besides, after placing rail slab over the span the work of placing road slab will begin from this month. Before the election five spans over the six pillars were installed at the Zajira end of the bridge in September. Later work of nine pillars was completed over the river. With the target of completing the work within the month of June, already more than half of the work for 14 pillars has completed. But no new span was added with the key bridge following the huge activities. Because, the new span has to be placed with the existing five. So the number 36 pillar was erected beside the pillar number 37. The grey color 6th span is ready at the moment outside the Mawa yard. To take the span at Zajira end, about five kilometers far from the spot, a modern crane capable of bringing 36 hundred metric tons weight is ready. Now the wait is for placing the 6th span. Project Director of Padma multipurpose bridge project Shafiqul Islam said, piers are ready, span is ready but we cannot make the transport. It needs some times. But he said, we hope, 6th span can be placed in the first or second week of January. After that continuous work will be in progress. AH

The construction work of Padma Multipurpose Bridge is going on in full swing. The government is hoping that the full construction work will be completed within the year 2019. The fourth span of the bridge is on its way to the Jajira end. This will be placed between the pear number 40 and 41 on May 14 or 15. Through this the 6 hundred meters of Padma Bridge will be visible in this week. The concerned people with the project said, the fourth span which is 150 meters long and three thousand 140 tons in weight was carried by the crane ‘Tian E’ with capacity of carrying three thousand 600 tons for nearly six kilometers. The floating cranes were removed from the area for the pile placement. Project Director Shafiqul Islam said, the fourth span was carried from Mawa end to the designated point at the Jajira end. If everything will remain favorable then it will be placed within a few days. There are some technical matters which cannot be fixed in a stipulated time. There are more 16 spans are ready at the Kumarbhog Construction Yard of Mawa. At present painting work on those is going on. The Padma Bridge was made visible on September 30, 2017 by placing the first span between the pillar number 37 and 38. The second span was place on January 28 this year between pillar number 38 and 39. The last span was placed between the pillar number 39 and 40 on March 11. A high official of Padma Bridge project said, total 18 pillars will be made visible within two months including the previous five. Meanwhile, Bangladesh Railway has given good news. Railway Minister Mujibul Haque said, railway will be made operable from the first day of the bridge inauguration. Works are going on with the target. AH