Tk 1,400cr additional fund approved for Padma Bridge

Staff Correspondent: The government has approved additional Tk 1,400 crore funding for the much-hyped Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project.

The additional funding for the project was approved at a meeting at the NEC conference room in the capital's Shere Bangla Nagar on Thursday.

Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting.

The proposal was placed before the ECNEC meeting for approval. There, it was approved upon mutual consensus.

The Bridges Division, the implementing authority of the project, had sent a proposal to the planning ministry to acquire 1,163 hectares of land at a cost of Tk 1,400 crore.

Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal briefed reporters after the meeting.

The Planning Minister said the cost increased for acquiring lands needed to dump dredging spoil due to river training along the bank of the Padma.

The increased amount will be added to the total cost of the project when the entire Padma Bridge project will go through revision, the minister said.

Mentionable, Tk 30,793. 39 crore was earlier estimated for the project cost.


risingbd/Dhaka/June 21, 2018/Hasibul/AI