Construction of Kewatkhali bridge to begin in August

GBNEWS24DESK//

Physical works of the country’s largest steel-arch bridge in Mymensingh are expected to start in August, as the authorities have almost completed the preparatory works.

The project authorities have already selected consultants for the construction supervision of Kewatkhali Bridge, and a contract will be signed with a consultancy consortium today.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader is expected to join the signing ceremony at his ministry.

“We hope to sign the contract with the contractor within June and start physical works of the bridge within August,” said project director Noor E-Alam.

It would take three years to complete the bridge, he told The Daily Star yesterday.

Roads and Highways Department (RHD) is implementing the Tk 3,263.63-crore project to build the 1,100-metre bridge, which will include a 320-m steel arch over Brahmaputra river. The bridge aims to improve connectivity between the capital and the districts under Mymensingh division.

The bridge will also connect a land port and export processing and economic zones in the area and help flourish tourism.

The government in August 2021 took the project with financial support from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The bank will provide Tk 1,909.79 crore as loan, while the government will bear the rest of the cost.

The deadline for the project is June 2025.

The objective of the project is to reduce congestion and improve mobility and connectivity by addressing the cross-river bottleneck between Mymensingh and Shambhuganj on the Dhaka-Mymensingh-India corridor, reads an AIIB document.

The project is expected to ease traffic congestion in Mymensingh city by diverting traffic away from the city’s central area via the construction of Kewatkhali Bridge over the Brahmaputra river, it said.

Apart from the bridge, three overpasses — two railway overpasses and one road overpass — and a 6.20-km four-lane road with service lanes on both sides will be built under this project.

The project authorities have to acquire around 33 acres of land for the project, and they have already hired a non-government organisation for re-settling the affected people there, said RHD sources.

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase on March 9, 2023, approved a proposal to hire a consortium for supervising the construction of the project.