A move is underway to set up a cantonment on around 200 acres of land on both sides of the Padma bridge project for ensuring fool-proof security of the country's key installation.
The Bangladesh Army was going to place a proposal to the ministry of defence seeking the required land for the purpose, officials said on Sunday.
They said it became mandatory to set up the cantonment after the country's longest and expensive bridge was declared a key-point installation (KPI).
The Bangladesh Army has already announced formation of 99 composite brigades after the KPI declaration was made.
Sources said the Bangladesh Bridges Authority (BBA) and the Army held a number of meetings during the last few months and came to an agreement to make a proposal to the government for the required land.
Earlier the army sought 700 acres of land from the Bridge Division for setting up the cantonment with the cost to be paid from the fund of the US $ 3.0 billion Padma Bridge Project. It, however, put the project authority in a dilemma over managing financing from the already-expensive project.
"It might have been a big burden on the project, if the land was acquired from the Padma Bridge project," said an official preferring not to be named.
Mr Abu Syeed Mohammad Masud, chief coordinator of the construction supervision consultant group of the Padma Bridge Project, said the 200 acres of land would be necessary initially for doing supervision on the ongoing construction.
He, however, said more land would be required to set up facilities for ensuring security of the bridge as a KPI on completion of its construction.
"We have already set up 99 brigades since declaration of the bridge as a KPI," he told the FE.
Sources said the Army Headquarters was preparing a project proposal to seek Tk 9.0 billion to be spent on land acquisition and other purposes for setting up the cantonment.
Sources, however, said the BBA was also considering handover of a small area of land to the army from the project on construction of the bridge.
Meanwhile, the BBA revised its resettlement plan to acquire the land which was earlier requisitioned temporarily for setting up two construction yards on both sides of the river to facilitate construction of the 6.15-kilometre bridge.
Sources said the construction yards measuring around 494 acres (200 hectares) of land would be handed over to the army for the purposes on completion of the construction work.
Sources said the army would not get any land from the project except the land to be reclaimed through dredging during the river training work. They said the land would be used as the training ground of the army after completion of the project,
The authority has so far acquired around 2,726 acres (1,103 hectares) of land on both sides of the river which were done much before the project work began.
The two construction yards were set up on the Mawa and Janjira sides of the river. Land was acquired for the yards to facilitate construction of the bridge by keeping slabs, truss-like materials and valuable machinery and equipment there.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
