Land acquisition for Padma Bridge starts next month

FE Team | Published: August 22, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Shakhawat Hossain
Land acquisition for the Padma Bridge construction is expected to start from next month. The Ministry of Communication (MoC) will seek Tk 3.2 billion from the finance ministry for the purpose, official source said.
The MoC has started to mobilise the requisite fund after being instructed by the high-ups of the caretaker government (CG) that approved the Padma Bridge project in the meeting of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) Monday.
The construction of the Padma Bridge, estimated to cost Tk 101.618 billion, is a priority project of the CG as it has already convinced the donor agencies including the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank to provide financial assistance worth more than US$ 600 million, sources added.
A senior ministry official said the important task of legislating the Padma Bridge Land Acquisition Ordinance 2007 was finalised at a council of advisers meeting in May last for the purpose of acquisition of land.
"The ministry is expected to give instructions to the concerned deputy commissioners for acquisition of land from next month, once the fund is approved by the finance ministry," said the official.
The Jamuna Multi-Purpose Bridge Authorities (JMBA) that looks after large bridge projects, in a study in 2005 estimated that 918.76 hectare of land would require to be acquired on both the sides - Mawa and Janjira - of the river Padma.
The land acquisition cost has been estimated to involve Tk 3.20 billion, said the study.
The official said the ordinance will be applied strictly to keep the land acquisition cost at a minimum following past bitter experiences during land acquisition for the Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge.
According to a survey by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), nearly 30,000 people will be displaced when land is acquired for building the bridge.