Padma bridge to open to traffic by June-end: Quader

Bangladesh plans to open the Padma bridge connecting Dhaka to southern districts by the end of June with 98 percent of its construction completed.

“We’ll send a summary of the inauguration plan to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and will open the bridge according to her schedule in June,” Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader told reporters on Wednesday.

Asked if the country’s longest bridge will be inaugurated on Jun 23, the founding anniversary of the Awami League, Quader said the date was not fixed yet. “As the bridges minister, I can confirm that the bridge will be inaugurated towards the end of June and may not be exactly on Jun 23.”

He said there was no confusion about the bridge construction and the unfinished part will be completed by May.

Asked about the name of the bridge, Quader said they had proposed to name the bridge “Sheikh Hasina Padma Setu”, a plan that received support from members of parliament, but the prime minister did not agree on that.

“Nevertheless, we’ll propose the name ‘Sheikh Hasina Padma Setu' again at the inauguration summary.”

Quader was asked to comment on why the planned bridge toll was more than the rates charged by the ferries. He said the ministry sent a summary of the toll rate to the prime minister and will follow her advice on it.

Bangladesh decided to build the 6.15km-long bridge at a cost of $3.87 billion after the World Bank pulled out of the project citing a “corruption conspiracy” which was never proved.