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8th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge: Connecting the country’s south
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will virtually inaugurate the Bekutia Bridge at 10:00am on September 4
A birds eye view of 8th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge (Bekutia Bridge) in Pirojpur Focus Bangla
Tribune Report
August 28, 2022 1:09 AM
Experts and government officials hope the much-awaited eighth Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge (Bekutia Bridge) in Pirojpur district will clear a bottleneck at ferry terminals in the region, much like the Padma Bridge.
Currently, hundreds of people travelling between Khulna and Barisal are reliant on the Bekutia-Kumirmara ferry route to cross the Kocha River. Although it only takes about 15 minutes for ferries to cross, passengers often have to wait for over an hour as only a single ferry operates on the route, locals told Dhaka Tribune.
Many passengers travelling from Barisal to Khulna take the long way around through Magura district as they are unwilling to wait for ferries, they added.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will virtually inaugurate the Bekutia Bridge at 10:00am on September 4, and the bridge will open for traffic the same day, Road Transport and Highway Division Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri said.
The bridge is expected to be named after Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib. Once it opens for traffic, people will be able to cross the river in minutes, he added.
In addition to easing travel between Khulna and Barisal, the bridge will ease connectivity between Payra and Mongla ports.
Pirojpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Habibur Rahman said: “Opening of the bridge will not only ease communication between Barisal and Khulna, it will help industrialization in the region
It will help develop agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, and tourism as well by easing movement, he added.
Md Rafik, driver of a local inter district bus, said he could not wait for the bridge to open.
“I cannot believe I may be able to cross the river in minutes, when I usually have to wait for one or two hours,” he added.
The Roads and Highways Division in October 2017 undertook the project to build the bridge over the Kocha river at a cost of Tk 894 crore, of which China provided Tk 654 crore as a grant.
The main structure of the 1,493m bridge has 495m of viaducts.
RHD is also constructing two other bridges - Kalna Bridge in Narail and the third Shitalakhya Bridge in Narayanganj – in order to transform the country’s communication channels.
Kalna Bridge, the first six-lane bridge in the country, is expected to be completed next month while the 3rd Shitalakhya Bridge is expected to be ready for use in October.
According to sources at the Daulatdia ferry terminal, the number of passengers travelling through the terminal each day dropped from around 4,000-5000 to 1,000-1,200 immediately after the opening of the Padma Bridge in late June.
Although ferry owners and workers are disgruntled with the drop in passenger numbers, the bridge has made ferry travel significantly safer by reducing overcrowding. It has also stopped launch owners and staff from aggressively competing with each other to attract as many passengers as possible.
PM Hasina to unveil 8th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge on September 4
The bridge will connect Pirojpur with southeastern districts of Bangladesh
An undated file photo shows the eighth Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge, built over the Kocha River in Pirojpur LinkedIn/CEAB
UNB
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to inaugurate the eighth Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge in Pirojpur district on September 4.
Once open, the bridge will connect Pirojpur with southeastern districts of the country as well as mitigate the unemployment problem of the country by boosting the economy of the district.
The Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge over the Kocha River at Bekutia point of Pirojpur will be unveiled by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina virtually, said the manager of bridge construction project, Masud Mahmud Sumon.
The bridge will be named after Bangamata Sheikh Fojilatunnesa Mujib , he told reporters on Thursday.
Construction work on the bridge began on October 20, 2018, at Bekutia point on Barishal-Pirojpur-Khulna road.
It was completed within the stipulated time amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Mahmud said the one-km-long bridge is 1500 metres in length and it has 495 viaducts at both ends.
The construction cost of the project is Tk894 crore, of which, China provided Tk654.79 crore as grant.
The bridge will also connect Khulna and Barisal districts.
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