Padma Multipurpose Bridge in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has a vision of achievibg mid income economy status by 20121, the golden jubilee year of its glorious liberation war. For this reason Bangladesh has taken some mega development projects. The mega development projects by the government are well underway and are expected to have significant positive impact for the country of Bangladesh.

Among 10 mega projects Padma Multipurpose Bridge is one of them.

Padma bridge is the most challenging construction project in the history of Bangladesh. It is a multipurpose road rail bridge across the padma river. It will cover the south-west of the country to northern and eastern regions of Bangladesh. The two level steel truss bridge will carry a four-lane highway on the upper level and a single tract railway on the lower level. With 150m span, 6.15km total length and 22m width it is going to be the largest bridge in the Ganges-Brahmaputro-meghna river basins of the country in terms of both span and total length.

The project covers three districts- Munshigonj, Sariatpur, and Madaripur. The padma bridge project is implemented with the government’s own funds, after the World Bank withdrew its $1.2 billion funding commitment. In a probable total, Padma Bridge Project is costing TK. 28,793 crore.The construction on the Padma Bridge os expected to be complete by 2018.

The Padma Bridge is a multipurpose road-rail bridge across the Padma River to be constructed in Bangladesh. It will connect Louhajong, Munshiganj to Shariatpur and Madaripur, linking the south-west of the country, to northern and eastern regions. Padma Bridge is the most challenging construction project in the history of Bangladesh. The two-level steel truss bridge will carry a four-lane highway on the upper level and a single track railway on a lower level. With 150 m span, 6150 m total length and 18.10 m width it is going to be the largest bridge in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basins of country in terms of both span and the total length.

The project covers three districts — Munshiganj (Mawa Point/North bank), Shariatpur and Madaripur (Janjira/South bank). The total area of land to be acquired and required for its components is 918 hectares. The requisition of land for the construction yard will be for six years on a rental basis. As per the new design, an additional 144.04 ha has been identified for acquisition, bringing the total to 1062.14 hectares. This additional land is required because project site lost significant land due to erosion, for transition structures and due to a change in railway alignment.