Bangladesh PM opens landmark USD 3.6 billion Padma Bridge

 BANGLADESH: The landmark Padma Bridge is not a pile of brick and cement but a symbol of Bangladesh’s pride, capacity and dignity, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Saturday as she inaugurated the country’s longest bridge entirely built with domestic funding.

The 6.15-km-long road-rail four-lane bridge is built over the Padma river connecting southwestern Bangladesh with the capital and other parts of the country. The multipurpose road-rail bridge, which is fully funded by the Bangladesh government, has been constructed at a cost of USD 3.6 billion.

“This bridge is not just bricks, cement, iron, and concrete This bridge is our pride, a symbol of our capacity, our strength and our dignity. This bridge belongs to the people of Bangladesh,” Hasina said.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opening the Padma Multipurpose Bridge, the Pride of Bangladesh.

The Padma Bridge would not only help improve intra-Bangladesh connectivity, but it will also provide much-needed impetus to logistics and businesses connecting India and our shared subregion, it said, adding the bridge will play an important role in fostering greater bilateral and subregional connectivity.

Prime Minister Hasina said that the foundation of the Padma Bridge is still the deepest in the world.

She said that the piles of this bridge have been laid up to a maximum depth of 122 metres while sophisticated technology has been used for earthquake prevention. Meanwhile, India has congratulated the Government of Bangladesh on completing the massive project.

“Congratulations to the government and people of Bangladesh on completing the landmark Padma Bridge project, from India!” the Indian High tweeted prior to the inauguration.