The seventh span of the Padma Bridge, one of the largest infrastructure projects in Bangladesh, is set to be installed on the 35th and 36th pillars of the bridge on Wednesday (Feb 20) at the Zajira point.
On Tuesday (Jan 22), the span was transported to the Zajira end from the Maowa Construction Yard on Tian-E floating crane, said Assistant Engineer of the mega project Humayun Kabir.
The span is 150 metres in length and weighs 3,600 tonnes.
Once installed, it will make a total of 1,150 meters of the bridge visible.
Another new span titled ‘6-D’ is expected to be installed on the 34th and 35th pillars of the bridge at the Janjira end by Mar 10.
On Oct 14, 2018, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina unveiled the name plaque of Padma Bridge Toll Plaza at the Mawa end.
According to experts, the national economy is expected to witness 1.2 percent GDP growth rate, while 0.84 percent poverty will be reduced every year after completion of the bridge to be built with an estimated cost of Tk 301.93 bllion .
The first span of the Padma Bridge was installed on Sept 30, 2017. The second span was installed four months later on Jan 28, 2018 while the third one was placed on March 11, after one and a half months.
The fourth span was positioned on May 13, after two months. After one month and 16 days, the fifth span was installed on Jue 29, 2018, followed by placement of the sixth span on Jan 23 this year.
A total of 41 spans will be installed on 42 concrete pillars to complete the 6.15-kilometre long bridge.