All you need to to know about Padma Bridge

Admin December 10, 2020Last Updated: December 30, 2020

28 2 minutes read

Padma Bridge at a glance:

Coordinates: 23.4460 ° North 90.2623 ° East: 23.4460 ° North 90.2623 ° East
Carrying: Vehicles, trains
Crossing: The river Padma
Location: Louhjong, Munshiganj with Shariatpur and Madaripur
The official name: Padma Multipurpose Bridge
Maintenance: Bangladesh Bridge Authority
Design: AECOM, The manufacturer is China Major Bridge Engineering Construction Company Ltd.
Material: concrete, steel
Total Length: 6.15 km (20,200 ft)
Width: 18.10 m (59.4 ft)
Construction started: December 7, 2014
Construction completed: June 2022 (estimated)
Launched: 2022 (Estimated)

With the launch of the dream Padma Bridge, it will connect 21 districts in the south. Therefore, the daily traffic on the Padma Bridge will be several times more than the Bangabandhu Bridge. But what is that number?

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) conducted a detailed survey in 2009 on the number of vehicles crossing the Padma Bridge each year. It shows that if the Padma Bridge is inaugurated at the beginning of 2022, then about 24,000 vehicles will pass through the bridge that year. The number will increase every year. In 2050, about 67,000 vehicles will run through the Padma Bridge.

The government is planning to open the Padma Bridge to traffic in December 2021. However, the relevant sources say, it may take a little more time. If it is introduced, the wait of the people of the country for almost two decades will come to an end. The Awami League government had in 1999 examined the pre-feasibility of building the Padma Bridge. Since then, people from the south and south-west have been dreaming.

With the launch of the Padma Bridge, it will save at least two hours on average to travel to the capital with the southern districts. It will play an important role not only in internal but also in regional communication.

According to the bridge department, on December 12, 2015, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the construction of the main bridge. The first span of the Padma Bridge was laid on September 30, 2016. Today, 10th December, 2020, Thursday, the 41st, that is, the last span of the bridge is to be installed.

According to the ADB survey, of the 24,000 vehicles that will run on the Padma Bridge in 2022, 8,238 will run on buses, 10,244 on trucks, and more than 5,000 on microbuses and private cars. The study further estimates that in 2025, the daily traffic on the Padma Bridge will increase to 27,800. In 2030 it will be 36 thousand 785. In 2040, the daily traffic will increase to 51,807.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), a partner of ADB and Japan, conducted a separate study in 2009 on the benefits of building the Padma Bridge. This shows that the economic impact of investment in the Padma Bridge or Economic Rate of Return (ERR) will stand at 18 to 22 percent per year.

People in the south are now waiting for the Padma Bridge to be launched. However, once the Padma Bridge is completed, the communication system of the capital with the south will be greatly improved. There will be new factories. At the end of the day, it will have a positive impact on the socio-economic system of the south.