Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Monday hailed significant progress of some mega projects, saying that 67 per cent work of Padma multipurpose bridge has already been completed.
Giving full credit to the ministry for the continuation of the work even during his long absence due to illness, he said the main bridge structure has reached 76 per cent completion while progress in river training is 55 per cent.
"The connecting road has already been done. Overall progress of the whole project is 67 per cent which is very satisfactory," the minister told reporters while briefing them on the progress of some big projects at the conference room of Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) in the city.
Sharing the development work, he said 236 piles out of 262 have also been installed and the remaining ones are expected to be set up by July, 2019.
Twelve spans out of total 41 of Padma Bridge have been installed so far while the 13th span will be set up within a couple of days, the minister added.
Showing a progress report on the Karnaphuli tunnel, Mr Quader said 38 per cent of the total work was completed as of April 30, 2019 and the project involving Tk 98.84 billion is expected to be finished by 2022.
On March 03, the road transport and bridges minister was admitted to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) with breathing complications.
Later, he was diagnosed with three blocks in his coronary arteries and flown to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore the next day for better treatment.
Mr Quader, also general secretary of the ruling Awami League, returned home from Singapore last week after spending two and a half months for treatment in Singapore.
Responding to a question, he said the Prime Minister reshuffled her cabinet to further accelerate the pace of development works. "It's just for smooth functioning and ensuring the quality of works. Such changes are made in every country if needed."
He added: "Since the prime minister is the captain of the state ship, she took such measures in line with the demand of the time to run the ship smoothly."
Terming his recovery from illness his new birth, the AL general secretary said it encouraged him to further work for the people with integrity and sincerity.
He also called upon the critics to do constructive criticism of their works so that they can be positive about criticism. "My door is open for critics as I firmly believe that constructive criticism is one kind of cooperation," he said.
The minister also expressed his gratitude to the people who prayed for his quick recovery.
Senior officials of the ministry and BBA were also present at the press briefing.
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