It is uncertain whether the rail and road communication on the long-cherished Padma Bridge can be opened for the public on the same day, likely in June next year.
The rail lines may not be ready for use by then.
Bangladesh Railway (BR) said it would take six months for the contractor to set up the tracks on the bridge, but Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA), has yet to officially clear the BR contractor to begin setting up the tracks.
BBA officials hinted that they may take up to March 2022 to let BR begin the installation. In that case, the tracks from Mawa-Bhanga will not be ready to be used by next June, said Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan yesterday while visiting the project site.
Moreover, the BR wants both the road and the rail lines to be complete at the same time, because opening the road to traffic while the tracks are being set up on the bridge may cause problems for the installation work.
The double-decker Padma Bridge is being constructed by BBA at the cost of Tk around 30,000 crores. The road will be on the top while the railway on the bottom.
The BR is implementing the Padma Bridge Rail Link project, building a 169km rail line to connect the capital with Jashore via the Padma Bridge at a cost of TK 39,246.80 crore. Rail tracks on the bridge would be installed by the contractor.
Although the revised deadline of the railway project is 2024, the authorities planned to operate trains on the Mawa-Bhanga section on the day the bridge would be open. Currently, Bhanga is connected with a railway network.
Sujan yesterday said officials have been working to make the Mawa-Bangha section ready for train operation on the day the bridge would be open to the public.
He added that the section witnessed 69 percent progress so far.
Currently, works for installing a gas line and building a walkway on the bottom section of the bridge is going on.
He said it would require six months to install rail tracks on the bridge and the BR wanted to install the tracks simultaneously, but BBA did not agree to that.
“If we get a chance to start work in December or January next year, we will be able to complete the work by June. But if we get the chance in March or April next year, we may not be able to start operating trains on Day 1,” he said.
If they fail to launch train operation on Day-1, they would try to bring Dhaka to Bhanga section under operation within December next year, the minister said.
He added that works for installing rail tracks might cause vibration and their works may be hampered. “For technical reasons, both the works should be completed simultaneously,” he said, adding that they were discussing the matter with BBA.
Asked whether the June 2022 deadline can be changed for it, the minister said, “We don’t want to see that the deadline has to be changed for us.”
Bridge Division Secretary Abu Bakr Siddique, also the executive director of BBA, said the gas line is being installed under a different project and it has to be done first.
Officials are working to let the installation of railways begin in January next year.
“And we hope they [railway authority] would be able to complete their works before inauguration of the bridge,” he told The Daily Star last night.
“We want no work on the bridge to remain incomplete after its inauguration,” he said. “We are hopeful about meeting the deadline.”
PROJECT PROGRESS
PBRLP was approved in March 2016 with the cost initially estimated to be Tk 34,989 crore. But the physical work of the project commenced only in July 2018, mainly due to the delay in signing of the loan contract with Chinese Exim Bank.
In the meantime, project costs climbed to Tk 39,246 crore and the deadline was extended up to 2024.
Although the fast-track project suffered setbacks twice due to problems in the design of viaducts and the pandemic, it witnessed 43.5 percent progress so far.
The authority has already installed 1.71km rail lines on the viaduct at Mawa end and the minister and high officials yesterday took a ride on a gang car on this part.
On the other hand, the minister yesterday inaugurated the installation of rail tracks on the viaduct at Janjira end. The Dhaka-Mawa section witnessed 40.5 percent progress while Bhanga-Jashore section witnessed 32 percent progress.
Railways Ministry Secretary Salim Reza, BR’s Director General Dhirendra Nath Mazumder, PBRLP director Afzal Hossain, among others, accompanied the minister.