The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The government had planned to construct a $1.5 billion bridge over the river Padma to connect the southwest of the country with the capital Dhaka, Syed Abul Hossain Communications Minister yesterday said.

"We hope the construction work will start in 2011, and this government is determined to finish the same in the next three years," said the minister.

Attending a meeting with bridge authority officials, the newly appointed minister sounded confident that the Awami League government would start and finish the construction.

"The prime minister has instructed me to complete appointment of a design consultant by this month," Hossain told reporters at Setu Bhaban.

Hossain said his ministry would float a tender for the construction work after the consultant had completed designs of the 5.58 km long bridge which would connect the southwest region with Dhaka.

"The gross domestic product of the southwest will increase by 2 percent if the bridge is constructed," he said.

The bridge over the Padma River, which will connect Mawa in Munshiganj with Jazira in the southwestern district of Madaripur, is also likely to contribute hugely to the functioning of Mongla port in Bagerhat district.

The country's second seaport in the southwest district fails to attract cargo ships owing to poor communications.

The bridge will also have a rail line that will ultimately be part of a proposed trans-Asian rail link, said the minister.

"We will engage consultants by this month and then will go ahead for tender process to select builders," Communication Minister told reporters after meeting ministry officials.

The decision to build the Padma Bridge follows the construction of a 5 km long bridge over the Jamuna River at Tangail in 1998. That bridge, 100 km north of Dhaka, connects the western region of the country with the capital.

International financial institutions including the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank will fund the construction. Bangladesh will provide some $200 million for the Padma Bridge, which will carry railway and gas transmission lines, officials said.