Dr. Muhammad Mahtab Hossain Mazed

Today is Saturday 25th June 2022. The dream Padma bridge is going to be inaugurated. The Minar-Padma bridge, the dream of the Bengalis, is about to be launched with ashes in the face of the enemy. This is certainly not just a steel structure, the Padma Bridge is the name of our passion. Another name for national pride and courage. Symbol of ability. One of the brightest milestones in our struggle for economic liberation.

Dr. MM Mazed, a prominent researcher and founder of the jatio rogi kallan Society, wrote a column on today's topicThe Prime Minister will inaugurate the Padma Bridge, the dream of 180 million people of Bangladesh today. In the meanwhile, overcoming many challenges and obstacles, the Padma Bridge is standing with its head held high. This bridge is no longer a dream. In reality, it has taken shape completely. The work of this 6.15 km long Padma bridge has already been completed 95 percent. The overall work of the Padma Bridge project has progressed by 88.75 percent.

The bridge is now visible on the chest of Padma against all discussions and criticisms and conspiracies. The pillars of the bridge are standing with their heads high. Involved with each pillar is the dream of economic liberation. The implementation of that bridge will increase the economic activities including the industrialization of the south-west. Fate will open for the backward people.

And through the Padma Bridge, domestic production and income will be added by a few billion dollars a year. There will be countless more bridges in this country, there will be implementation of countless more mega projects. All that is needed is qualified leadership. Bangabandhu, Sheikh Hasina as well as independence, victory and hundreds of development projects are examples of how a capable leader can take the country and the people forward.

As much as the people of Bengal are overwhelmed with joy at such success, so much is the defeated domestic and foreign power burdened with sorrow. With this bridge, the US flag, the World Bank flag, the Pakistani flag will have to be flown and all those forces will have to bow their heads. And we will fly away with the green flag painted by the red sun of Bangladesh. At least there will be such a difference. And the natives who have conspired, they will not be able to go to the boat, their extreme reluctance to the boat!

What will the country and the nation literally get as a result of the implementation of this mega project? 1. Every year, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) will increase by 1.3 to 2 percent, and once rail links are fully established, this growth rate will increase by another 1 percent. In terms of money, about one lakh eleven thousand crore rupees will be added to the domestic income of Bangladesh every year. According to the report of the International Monetary Fund, in terms of growth rate of domestic income, its current position in Bangladesh will increase from 20 to the third place by 2026.

2. The average per capita income is expected to increase at a proportional rate. Other positive social effects of the Padma Bridge are likely to further increase revenue growth in this indexIf the average per capita income increases, it will increase from three thousand seven hundred US dollars per year to two thousand 898 US dollars with the opening of the Padma Bridge at the rate of three percent per annum.

3. There will be a revolutionary change in the communication system with 21 districts in the south. Travel time will be reduced by 20 to 50 percent. In other words, in places where it takes eight hours to travel from Dhaka, the travel time will be reduced to four hours. Apart from this, as a result of unprecedented development of communication system, factories, trade and commerce, health, education, sanitation, empowerment will be more accelerated in the directly connected places.

Bangladesh was one of the ten poorest countries in the world when Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman took over the reins of the war-torn country on January 12, 1972. 88 percent of the people were poor. Dependence on foreign aid was also 88 percent. Many doubted whether Bangladesh would survive, said Henry Kissinger, a US security adviser, who said Bangladesh was a "bottomless pit". Bangabandhu stood on the rubble and started well-planned economic activities with empty hands.

In the second year of the first Five Year Plan (1973-78), Bangladesh's GDP rose to 9.59 percent against the target of 5.5 percent in 1974-75, which is still a record GDP. But after the assassination of Bangabandhu on 15 August 1975, the country was plunged into darkness. Directly and indirectly, the military and semi-democratic rulers shared the power of the anti-independence forces and ruled the country for 21 long years. During their tenure, GDP growth has never been above 4/5 percent. But what do we see if we do not take into account the tenure of Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the worthy successor of Bangabandhu from 1996-2001 and 2009 to the present. After Bangabandhu, he has brought all fields including economy and development to the highest level in history. Has taken the country to a unique height. GDP growth is 7.25 percent in FY 2021-22, up from 8 percent in FY 2018-19 before the Kovid-19 epidemic. Bangladesh is now the 41st largest economy in the world.

The wonder of development to the world. This June 25 is going to be another milestone in the ongoing development journey of Bangladesh. On this day, the Prime Minister is going to inaugurate the Padma Bridge of his dreams. The Padma is not just a bridge. On the one hand, it is a bridge to create a history of 88% foreign aid dependent Bangladesh's economic potential, on the other hand, it is a bridge to create examples of courage and honesty by tackling conspiracies and challenges. The incarnation of this article revolves around the construction of the Padma Bridge.

> Construction history: -

On September 16, 1998, a proposal was made for the construction of a bridge over the Padma River on the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga-Khulna Highway at a cost of Tk 3,643.50 crore to establish a direct link between the capital and the south and south-west of the country. The 5 km long and 18.10 m wide bridge is considered to be the longest bridge in the country. Construction was proposed to begin in July 1999 and be completed in June 2004. It was planned to provide the proposed amount of Tk 2,693.50 crore from foreign sources and Tk 750 crore from national sources.

In the 2006-2007 Annual Development Program, the then Government of Bangladesh adopted a plan to build the Padma Multipurpose Bridge.

The World Bank withdrew its pledge in 2008-09 after allegations of corruption by some people involved in project preparation, and other donors followed suit. In this incident, the then Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain was removed from the cabinet and Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan was sent to jail. The case was later dropped by a Canadian court for lack of evidence. Allegations of corruption were later refuted in court. Later, the project was decided to be funded by the Bangladesh government from its own resources.

Construction of the multi-purpose socio-economic development project 'Padma Multipurpose Bridge' on the Padma River, designed by ECOM, was supposed to start in 2011 and was to be completed in 2013. The original project was planned by the former caretaker government on August 28, 2007. At that time the Padma Bridge project worth 10 thousand 161 crore was passed. Later, the Awami League government came and connected the railways and on January 11, 2011 revised the cost of the bridge in the first phase. At that time the cost was estimated at 20 thousand 507 crore. The cost of the Padma Bridge was further increased by Tk 8,000 crore. As a result, the total cost of the Padma Bridge stood at Tk 28.793 crore. [11] The Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BASEC) called for pre-qualification tenders for the project in April 2010. According to the first plan, construction of the bridge was scheduled to begin in early 2011 [12] and major works were to be completed by 2013. [13] According to the plan, the project will cover three districts - Munshiganj (Mawa Point / North Par), Shariatpur. And Madaripur (Janjira / South bank). The total land required and acquired for this is 918 hectares.

> Design: -

The complete design of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge was formed by a team of international and national consultants led by ECOM. An international panel of experts was formed on the Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge Project, the first major bridge project in Bangladesh. Professor Jamilur Reza Chowdhury was appointed chairman of the 11-member expert panel. The panel provides expert advice to project officers, design consultants and development partners on the design and implementation of the bridge. [14]

> Action Plan: -

The physical work of Padma Bridge is basically divided into five packages namely- (a) Main Bridge, (b) River Governance, (c) Road connecting Jazira, (d) Toll Plaza etc. Mawa connecting roads, toll plazas etc. and Mawa and Jajira service areas. Monsell-Ecom, a design consulting firm engaged in the project, was responsible for preparing the pre-qualification rate documents for the physical work contractor, evaluating the tender documents after inviting tenders, and assisting the tender committee in all related works. An international panel of expert design consultants supervised the work. Tender evaluation committee was formed for different packages of physical work. The director of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project was the chairman of the technical evaluation committee.

Piling problems

In the beginning, the engineers and experts who built the bridge had to find the soil at the bottom of the river Padma. Normal soil was not found at the bottom. The problem was seen after the piling work of the bridge started. Engineers try to build pillars by creating new soils instead of artificial ones at the bottom of the river. The Padma Bridge was built in this manner called screen grouting. In this process, the strength of the soil is increased by sending chemicals to the bottom of the river through a hole in the pipe from above. Then pillars were built on that ground. In this method small steel pipes are welded with piles. A type of chemical is sent through the pipe to the soil at the bottom of the river. Under the influence of chemicals, the soil at the bottom becomes hard. At some point that soil becomes able to carry the load of the pile. Then there is no obstacle to put the pile.

> Contracting agency

On 17 June 2014, a formal agreement was signed between the Government of Bangladesh and China Major Bridge Company for the construction of the Padma Bridge. As the lowest bidder, the Chinese company got the responsibility of constructing the Padma Bridge. When the first tender was called for the construction of Padma Bridge in 2010, 40 companies took part in it to get pre-qualification. Five of these companies were selected under the supervision of World Bank, JICA and ADB. A company was later dropped due to World Bank objections. Only Chinese companies submit financial proposals when soliciting financial proposals. The company is a subsidiary of China Railway Group Limited.

In April 2022, under the Bridges Division, Korea Expressway Corporation and China Major Bridge Engineering Company Limited were appointed by the Bangladesh Bridge Authority to maintain and collect tolls on the Padma Multipurpose Bridge.

> Construction cost: -

The total cost for the construction of Padma Bridge was Tk 30,193.39 crore. These costs include construction of bridge infrastructure, river governance, connecting roads, land acquisition, rehabilitation and environment, salaries and allowances, etc. According to the agreement of the bridge department with the finance department of Bangladesh, the government gave a loan of Tk 29,793 crore for the construction of the bridge. The bridge authority will pay 1 percent interest within 35 years.

> Gradual increase in expenditure: -

In 2005, the initial estimate for the construction of the Padma Bridge was Rs 12,000 crore. At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, the then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia suggested limiting the total construction cost to Rs 10,000 crore in terms of construction cost of other comparable bridges in the world.

During the caretaker government in August 2006, the ECNEC meeting approved the final estimate of Rs 10,161 crore for the Padma Bridge.

Subsequently the estimates were increased at different times. The latest approved estimate is Rs 30,193 crore which is Rs 20,032 crore more than the original estimate. It has been said that delay in implementation is the main reason for the increase in project cost.

In US dollars, the cost of construction of the 6.15 km long Padma road-rail bridge has increased from ৮ 1.48 billion to 3.56 billion in eleven years. China's 6.4-kilometer-long Ufensang Yangji Road-Rail Bridge was commissioned in December 2020. Comparable to the Padma Bridge, it took 4 years to build and cost 1.05 billion, which is less than one-third of the Padma Bridge.

> Construction schedule: -

Major Bridge Engineering Corporation of China was hired for the main bridge. The Sinohydro Corporation of China manages the river. Abdul Monem Limited of Bangladesh was awarded the contract for construction of two connecting roads and infrastructure. The main construction work started in October 2017.

2017

After a long wait on September 30, the first span was placed on the pillars of the Padma Bridge. The span was installed with the help of floating cranes on pillars 37 and 38 at Jajira end of Shariatpur.

March 11 The third span sits on pillars 39 and 40.

On 13 May, the fourth span was placed on pillars 40 and 41.

The fifth span of the bridge has been laid on June 29 in Naodoba area of Jajira upazila of Shariatpur.

2018

In January sits the sixth last span on the Jazira edge.

On 28 January, the second span 6B superstructure was installed on the 38th and 39th pillars of the Padma Bridge. About four months after the first span was installed, the 3,150-tonne span was installed at the Naodoba end of the island.

Seventh span sitting on pillars 4 and 5 at the end of Mawa.

2019

On 20 February, the eighth span was placed on pillars 38 and 35 at the Jazira end.

The ninth span is sitting on the pillars 35 and 34 of the bridge on March 22.

April 10 Tenth span on pillars 13 and 14 at the end of Mawa.

On 23rd April, the 11th span was placed on the 33rd and 34th pillars at the Jajira end of Shariatpur.

On 17 May, the 12th span was placed on the 20th and 21st pillars between Mawa and Jajira.

On May 25, the 13th span 3B was placed on the 14th and 15th pillars.

The 14th span was placed on 29 June.

On 22 October, the 15th span of the Padma Bridge was laid on the 24th and 25th pillars at the Jazira end.

On 27 November, the 16th span was placed on the 16th and 17th pillars at the end of Mawa.

On December 5, 2019, the 16th span of the main bridge was placed on the pillars 22 and 23.

The 18 th span of the Padma Bridge was laid on 11 December.

The 19th span was installed on 18 December.

On 31st December, the 20th span of the Padma Bridge was laid on the 18th and 19th pillars at the Mawa end of Munshiganj. The gray ‘3-F’ numbered span is placed on top of the pole.

2020

On 14 January, the 21st span was placed on the 32nd and 33rd pillars at the Jazira end of the Padma Bridge.

On 23 January, the 22nd span was placed on the 5th and 6th pillars on the Mawa side.

The 23rd span is on February 2.

The 24th span is sitting on 11 February.

The 25th span was installed on 21 February.

On March 10, the 28th span of the Padma Bridge was laid. This span is placed on the 28th and 29th pillars at Jajira end of Shariatpur.

On April 20, the 28th span was placed on pillars 26 and 27.

On 11 April the 27th span was placed at the end of Jazira.

On May 4, the 29th span of the bridge with ‘4A’ ID number was placed on the 19th and 20th pillars of the bridge at the end of Mawa.

On 30 May, the 30th span was placed on the 26th and 27th pillars of the bridge at the Jazira end.

On June 10, the 31st span of the Padma Bridge was laid. The span was placed at piers 25 and 26 of the bridge at 5 at Jajira end of Shariatpur.

The 32nd span of the Padma Bridge was laid on 11 October. Although it was not possible to install the span on the first day due to strong currents in the Padma, the span was installed on the 4th and 5th pillars of the bridge at Mawa end of Munshiganj on the second day due to the efforts of the engineers. The span was set up four months later due to floods and strong currents in the Padma River.

The 33rd span of the bridge was laid on 20 October.

On October 25, the 34th span was installed at Span 2 on the 8th and 7th pillars at the Mawa end of the bridge.

On 31st October, the 35th span was placed in the span 2-B on the 6th and 9th pillars at the end of Mawa.

On November 8, the 36th span of the Padma Bridge was laid on the 2nd and 3rd pillars of the Mawa side of the bridge.

On 13 November, the 37th span ‘2-C’ was placed on the 9th and 10th pillars at the Mawa end of Munshiganj.

On 21st November, the 38th span was successfully placed on the 1st and 2nd poles of Mawa side of Munshiganj.

The installation of the 39th span was completed on 27 November. The span is placed on the 10th and 11th pillars of the Mawa side of Munshiganj.

On December 4, the 40th span of the Padma Bridge was installed and 6,000 meters of the bridge became visible.

On December 10, the entire Padma Bridge became visible by placing the 41st span on the 12th and 13th pillars of the Padma Bridge.

2021

The last road slab was laid on 23rd August.

2022

The test of 415 lights of the bridge was completed step by step from 4th June to 10th June. On June 14, all the lamps were lit at once.

Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the bridge on June 25.

In conclusion, those who have witnessed Sheikh Hasina in the last 13 years cannot deny that she has been able to take herself to unique heights as a leader. The qualities of his leadership have not only been appreciated by the people of the country, but his leadership has been praised in the world court. From the leader of Bangladesh, he has established himself as a world leader.As well as conducting development activities in the country, she has always been vocal on issues including climate change and women's empowerment in the international arena, as international organizations and heads of state of large countries have praised her work. Even its economic activities and development plans have been praised by leaders around the world.

The government's success in tackling Kovid-19 has been praised worldwide. Under his leadership, Bangladesh has been recommended for inclusion in the list of developing countries. The Sheikh Hasina government is trying to take Bangladesh to Qatar as a developed country in 2041. He has worked tirelessly for the last 13 years to achieve this goal. And Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has become a symbol of hope and aspiration of 180 million people of Bangladesh. Today's position in Bangladesh has been achieved due to its visionary leadership. However, the continuity of the government has helped him achieve this goal because without the continuity of the government in the political reality of a country like Bangladesh, development is hampered.

The people of Bangladesh have trusted him and given him the opportunity to work according to his planWe believe that the people of Bangladesh will have the same faith in the twelfth parliamentary elections to be held in 2023, because the thing we should all keep in mind at the moment is that in the political context of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina's alternative has not yet been created.

Just as Bangabandhu and Bangladesh are used as synonyms, Sheikh Hasina has now become another name for the development of Bangladesh. As a result, maintaining the continuity of development, Bangladesh is now running towards a developed country under the leadership of Awami League and under the leadership of Bangabandhu daughter Sheikh Hasina.

Author, Founder, jatio rogi kallan Society.