Communications Minister Obaidul Quader on Monday told the house that construction of the main structure of the long-awaited Padma Bridge would begin in the current fiscal year.
“The construction of the main structure of the bridge is expected to begin this fiscal after finalizing appointment of the contractors through completing evaluation of the technical and financial bids by June 14,” he said while replying to a starred question from independent lawmaker Md. Rustom Ali Farzi (Pirojpur-3) in the House today.
Quader said that a total of three firms submitted technical proposals after the government invited bids to construct the main structure of the bridge at an estimated cost of Tk 9,172.17 crore.
“Now, work is on to evaluate the technical and financial proposals to this end,” he added.
About the financing of the project, the Communications Minister said that the government has decided to complete the bridge with local funds.
“But, we will use the fund if we get it from any foreign country or organisation,”he added.
He said that although Tk 9,172.17 crore has been earmarked as an estimated cost to construct the main structure of the bridge,according to the RDPP the total cost of the bridge has been estimated at Tk 20,507.20 crore or US$ 2.97 billion.
Source: UNB Connect
