http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2016-08/09/content_26399204.htm
Chinese firm signs $4.44b deal to build railway in Bangladesh
(Xinhua) Updated: 2016-08-09 09:25
DHAKA - A State-owned Chinese company has signed a $4.44-billion agreement to build a railway via Bangladesh's largest Padma bridge.
China Railway Construction Corp Ltd (CRCC) signed the official construction contract with the Bangladeshi government on Monday in capital Dhaka.
Zhang Xuecai, deputy general manager of China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group CO LTD (CREEC) and Amzad Hossain, director general of Bangladesh Railway, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.
Last month, the Bangladeshi government gave the final go-ahead to the Chinese company to start construction of the 215 km-long Padma rail link from capital Dhaka to Jessore district, 164 km away from capital Dhaka.
CREEC was commissioned to construct the railroad for 247.49 billion taka ($3.14 billion). Construction is scheduled to be completed by June 30, 2022.
The total project cost would be met through China's government soft loan and from the government's own funds.
The rail link project also includes construction of 66 main bridges, 244 minor bridges, 14 new rail stations and procurement of 100 passenger coaches, according to the proposal from Bangladesh's railway ministry.
It said trains will travel at a maximum speed of 120 km per hour on the link. The project will be built under the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) project aimed at creating an integrated freight railway network across Europe and Asia.
This is also reportedly a project of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Unescap).
The Padma bridge will be double-decker with a four-lane road on the upper deck and a broad gauge single railway track on the lower deck.
A portion of the rail line reportedly will be up and running by 2018, when the Bangladeshi government presents the much-publicized infrastructure project to the public, as the Padma bridge can be used by both road and rail.
In December last year, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the main works of the country's biggest Padma Bridge project by unveiling its foundation plaque.
Prior to the inauguration of the main bridge's construction works, she unveiled the plaque of the river training works, the second most costly component of the $3 billion project conducted by one of the largest international companies, Sinohydro Corporation Limited.
Hasina said the bridge will shorten travel time between capital Dhaka and the country's southern region, boosting entire trade and economic activities.
Experts say the bridge when it comes into operation in 2018 will ease pressure on the country's premier seaport in Chittagong, 242 km southeast of capital Dhaka, as it will bolster the second largest Mongla seaport in Bagerhat district, 178 km southwest of the capital city.
In June 2014, the Bangladeshi government awarded China Major Bridge Engineering Company Limited a $1.55-billion contract to build core structure of the Padma Bridge project which is to be completed in four years.
The 25-meter-wide and 10-km-long bridge will be built over Padma River, one of the three major rivers in Bangladesh.
About 6.15 km of the bridge is being built over the river while the remaining part on both banks. Apart from connecting nearly 30 million people in Bangladesh's southwest region to the rest of the country, the bridge will enhance regional trade and collaboration along the Asian highway No 1 and the Trans-Asian railway network.
The bridge is among the six projects that are under direct supervision of the Fast Track Project Monitoring Committee headed by Hasina.
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Chinese ship anchors at Bangladesh’s Payra port ahead of inauguration on Aug 13
Sanjay Kumar Das, Patuakhali Correspondent, bdnews24.com
Published: 2016-08-01 20:30:38.0 BdST Updated: 2016-08-01 20:30:38.0 BdST
Payra Sea Port has unofficially been flagged off through the anchorage of a commercial vessel from China.
MV Fortune Bird reached the outer anchorage of the port in southwestern Patuakhali district on Monday afternoon.
The vessel, however, could not unload the 53,000 tonnes stone, mostly for the Padma Bridge, due to bad weather, Payra Port Authority Chairman Captain Saidur Rahman told bdnews24.com.
Several other foreign ships would reach the port in the next few days.
The port will be officially inaugurated in a ceremony on Aug 13, Captain Saidur said.
“Ships depend on high tide in other ports, but there is no such problem with Payra port because of its deep navigability. Ships can travel to the port 24 hours a day,” the chairman added.
http://bdnews24.com/economy/2016/08...hs-payra-port-ahead-of-inauguration-on-aug-13
Rail lines all the way to Barisal Division: Hasina - bdnews24.com
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Update : 2016-02-12 18:05:04
Govt moves to set up Bhanga-Barisal rail link
UNB
The government has taken a major initiative to set up rail lines from Faridpur to Barisal and thus establish rail connectivity between Barisal and capital Dhaka through the Padma Multipurpose Bridge. The Ministry of Railways has recently sent a Preliminary Development Project Proposal (PDPP) to the Planning Commission on 'Construction of Broad Gauge Railway Line from Bhanga to Barisal and Feasibility Study from Barisal to Payra Sea Port Section' involving Tk 9,990 crore. Under the proposed project, a 100-km railway track will be set up from Bhanga in Faridpur to Barisal and then a feasibility study will be conducted to further extend the railway communications from Barisal to Payra Sea Port of Patuakhali, a Planning Commission official preferring anonymity told UNB. Bangladesh Railway will implement the proposed project from July 2016 to June 2021. The Planning Commission official said the Barisal Division, encompassing half of the southern part of the country, has no railway connectivity although the region is important as it has a maritime port and has a reputation of being a big rice bowl. "Rail link will enhance economic activities in the region. In the future, it can be extended to the proposed Payra Sea Port," the official added. The Planning Commission official further said the Bhanga-Barisal route will get connected with the proposed Padma railway link thus deriving the full benefit of the Padma Bridge, which will connect Barisal and Dhaka through a shorter route. The distance from Dhaka to Barisal will then be 185 kilometers, reducing the travel time by three hours. He said many people will be able to travel conveniently to their workplaces. "The proposed project will link Barisal with Khulna, Jessore, Benapole, Darsana, Mongla Port, Rajshahi and other important areas of Bangladesh. Of the total project cost, he said, Tk 1998 crore will come from the national exchequer while Tk 7,992 crore from project assistance, likely from the government of China or any other donor agency. Besides, an official at the Ministry of Railways said the cost estimation of the proposed project has been made based on the Padma Bridge Rail Link project, Phase 1 (Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga). The actual cost will be determined after conducting the feasibility study and detailed design. Once the project is completed, the official said, people from all over Bangladesh will get the benefit of speedy, safe, low-cost and comfortable railway transportation facility to Barisal, improving the socioeconomic condition of Bangladesh. This project will help link Barisal with Dhaka as well as with the rest of the country enabling Bangladesh Railway to introduce train services for carrying passengers and goods.
Source: https://defence.pk/threads/news-from-bangladesh.18824/page-96#ixzz4GqyLaJUM
