The Padma Bridge, one of the largest infrastructure projects in Bangladesh, will be named after the prime minister, says Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader.
“The prime minister and daughter of Bangabandhu said repeatedly to name the bridge after the river. Basis on opinions and suggestions we received from the government and opposition party lawmakers and the common people, the ministry has decided that it will be named ‘Sheikh Hasina Padma Bridge’,” he said on Saturday.
Speaking to the media after visiting the construction site at the Mawa end in Munshiganj, he said they have already forwarded the proposal to the prime minister’s office.
“We should show respect to our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her courageous lone decision which has made the bridge visible despite the World Bank’s withdrawal from the bridge project…Sheikh Hasina has proved that she is a brave daughter of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,” said Quader, the general secretary of the ruling Awami League.
Fifty nine percent of the overall work on the Padma Bride project has already been completed while 70 percent of the main bridge has been finished, he added.
The government is aiming to finish construction work on the bridge by the end of 2018. Bangladesh has signed a $2.76 billion dollar loan deal with China’s EXIM Bank to implement the rail line project on the bridge.