A proposed Tk 13,000-crore mega project is in the offing to construct a 9.22-km bridge, which is going to be the longest bridge in the country, to connect the island district of Bhola with the mainland. The project is aimed at establishing direct road communication with Bhola, building two bridges on Kalabadar and Tetulia rivers and approach roads.
As per the plan, a 7.58-kilometre bridge starting from Barishal would end on a shoal on the Tetulia River and from the shoal another 1.64-km approach bridge would be constructed to reach Bhola. Sources said the project would approximately start by July 2019 and end by December 2024. Out of the Tk 12,916 crore estimated cost, the government will give Tk 2,635 while the rest Tk 10,281 crore is expected to be collected from development partners.
The Bridges Division recently has finalised a Primary Development Project Proposal (PDPP) in this regard. The two bridges connecting Barishal and Bhola would cost an estimated Tk 12, 916 crore. The Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Finance Ministry has already sent letters to the country’s development partners seeking financial assistance.
\Meanwhile, the Bridges Division sources said feasibility study to build the proposed bridges over the Tetulia and Kalabadar rivers began in 2017. India’s STUP Consultant Private Limited, UK’s COWI Consulting, and Bangladesh’s Development Design Consultants Ltd, DevConsultants Limited were awarded the responsibility worth Tk 56.35 crore study scheduled to end by June 30, 2019.
The government is expecting to raise the lion’s share of the fund needed to implement the project titled, ‘Construction of Bhola Bridge on Barishal-Bhola road over the Tetulia and Kalabadar rivers’ from various development partners China, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and World Bank (WB).
Sources said seeking assistance, ERD has sent letters to Agence Française de Développement (AFD) of France, Office of Development Assistance (ODA) of Japan, and ADB respectively on January 2, February 9 and February 10 of this year. Earlier on November 27, 2018, Road Communication wing of Planning Ministry’s Physical Infrastructure Division requested ERD to adopt necessary steps to ensure overseas assistance to the project.
Sources said a primarily estimated cost of around Tk 13,000 crore has been fixed before seeking financial assistance from partners, though it is not final. After getting the feasibility report and finalising the design of the bridges, the estimated cost might go up. In this regard, Project Director Md Tofazzal Hossain told the media last week that the project has been primarily approved to bring Bhola under direct road communication with the rest of the country. Several proposals seeking overseas financial assistance have been placed to development partners.
“The island district would be connected with southern district of Barishal through the construction of two bridges on Tetulia and Kalabadar. Once we get the feasibility study in hand, we will have accurate idea over the production cost and length of the bridges,” he said in reply to a query. Officials claimed that the distance between Bhola and Barishal is the shortest if crossed through Tetulia and Kalabadar rivers; that is why the bridge would be built at the specified locations.
