BNP Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said it is ‘impossible’ to bridge the Padma without World Bank funding.
He described the tender floated by the ruling government as ‘madness’.
“The Padma bridge was a hope for our people. But the government forced a World Bank pullout,” he told the media at the party’s Naya Paltan headquarters on Thursday.
“Everyone has said it is impossible to bridge Padma without them (WB).”
“Now the tender that has been called is just madness. It is impossible to build Padma Bridge without World Bank,” he said.
Fakhrul said though the funds for the project can be managed, it will be hard to involve a good construction firm. “No good firms will come to a project after the World Bank and ADB pulled out.”
He alleged that all this had happened because of ‘prioritising a corrupt individual’ — perhaps a dig at former Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain at the heart of the controversy surrounding suspected corruption conspiracy.
Once constructed, the 6.15-kilometre bridge will connect 21 southern districts with the capital – what will be the largest infrastructure of the country.
The government says the bridge will boost Bangladesh’s economy by 1.2 percent.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith had allocated Tk 68.52 billion for the bridge in his 2013-14 proposed budget.
A tender has now been floated for it but Muhith appeared hazy about the timeframe, doubting whether work can be started within the tenure of this government.
Source: Bd news24
