Padma bridge construction starts in January

Construction of the bridge over the river Padma would start in January next year and is expected to be completed by 2013. About US $ 2.29 billion would be available from development partners including World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank, JAICA, Islami Development Bank and the Abu Dhabi Fund. The WB is financing US $ 1.2 billion, the largest soft loan for a single project ever to be provided to Bangladesh. This was informed yesterday at the 15th meeting of the parliamentary standing committee of communication ministry held at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban with committee Chairman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the chair, said a press release. They discussed in detail a report on Padma bridge, to be built by the bridges division of the communication ministry, submitted before the committee. A progress report on construction of a four-lane Dhaka-Chittagong Highway was also presented. The committee expressed satisfaction over sanctioning of work order to the lowest bidder of the project to upgrade Dhaka-Chittagong Highway to four lanes and recommended to maintain quality of work. Committee members Communication Minister Syed Abul Hossain, Zillul Hakim, Nazrul Islam Manju, Abu Zahir and Golam Mowla Rony attended the meeting. Secretary of Roads and Railway Division Mozammel Haque Khan, Bridge Division Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan and concerned officials of the parliament secretariat were present at the meeting.