Roads and Highways Department (RHD) signed contracts with two local companies on Thursday for making the existing small bridges in the country's western zone suitable for the planned four-lane road network.
Officials said the Tk 4.28 billion job is a part of the government's mission for upgrading all the small bridges to four-lane standards for smooth movement of the vehicles.
Under the Western Bangladesh Bridge Improvement Project (WBBIP), the bridges in three regions -- Khulna, Gopalganj and Barisal -- will be upgraded. The bridges in Rangpur and Rajshahi regions will be upgraded after selection of the contractor.
A total of 61 bridges will be upgraded under the WBBIP.
The government has targeted to upgrade all the national highways and regional roads into four-lane ones.
Meanwhile, the RHD has already completed construction of the new bridges in the eastern zones.
RHD chief engineer Ibne Hasan Alam and managing director of MONICO Limited Shafiqul Alam Bhuiyan and managing director of DIENCO Limited SM Khorshed Alam signed the contracts on behalf of their respective sides at Sarak Bhaban in Dhaka.
Minister for Road Transport and Bridges Obaidul Quader witnessed the signing ceremony.
According to the contracts, MONICO will construct nine bridges in Khulna region and seven in Gopalganj region at a cost of Tk 2.78 billion while DIENCO will construct nine bridges in Barisal region at a cost of Tk 1.5 billion.
Addressing the function, the minister said the road network of Khulna, Barisal and Gopalganj regions will be safe, dependable and efficient after completion of the bridges' construction.
RHD has taken up the WBBIP at a cost of Tk 30 billion, including financial assistance of Tk 20 billion from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Apart from constructing the 61 bridges with a total length of 4.7 kilometres, 42-km approach roads will be constructed under five packages of the project. Tender has been invited to construct the bridges in the Rangpur and Rajshahi regions.
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