At least 713 Chinese workers are employed in the construction of the Padma Bridge and, of this, 332 workers went to China to observe the Chinese New Year but they are now stuck due to the Coronavirus threat.
However, executive engineer of Padma Bridge Dewan Md Abdul Kader has said that none of them is affected by the virus.
“The head office of Padma Bridge is in Wuhan, the workers are from that region and they could not come back to Bangladesh on time. If they cannot come back within the next 10-15 days, the work for the bridge will slacken.”
He also said that the Chinese are looking for ways to ensure that the bridge work does not lose momentum and they are thinking of hiring workers from another country.
If everything goes to plan, the 25th span will be placed on Feb 21, he added.
The work of the bridge began on 2014 and the main contractor of the bridge, China Major Engineering Company, MBEC is working along with Sino Hydro Corporation.