Construction work of Padma bridge yet to gather pace

Construction of Padma bridge and river training work are yet to start in full swing as project's two foreign contractors still find themselves in a difficult situation to confirm the design.
Sources said the Chinese contractors could not confirm trial test and piling test into the Padma River and manage the river from erosion to start the two main component works of the project. The contractors also sat with a panel of experts (PoEs) last week, but could not find any solution, they added.
Project office sources said the 11-member panel including five foreign experts visited the project site from April 7 to April 9 to see themselves the progress and challenges of the country's important project.
The PoEs made queries from the contractors and guided them to carry out the trial tests in different ways to confirm the load of the bridge and river bank protection work, they added.
The PoEs also decided to sit after every three months to help all five contractors overcome day-to-day challenges of the project for speeding up the process of implementation.
"There is nothing to be worried over the delay in trial tests. But confirmation is needed to start the construction work in full swing," said a project official preferring anonymity.
Project Director M Shafiqul Islam, however, ruled out the possibility of delay in implementing the Tk 280 billion project and said this kind of situation is very normal. He said the PoEs sat in a meeting as part of their routine work.
A member of the PoEs said as this kind of bridge with the deepest foundation is being constructed first in the world, the contractors find more challenges than ever.
He also said due to different depths in the riverbed and difference in soil type, it is taking more time to carry out trial tests. The PoEs also brushed aside allegation of negligence from the part of contractors. He expressed the hope that it will be possible to start the construction work in full swing after the rainy season.
However, sources said the main bridge contractor has been advised to bring bigger and better hammers other than China and complete pilling and bearing design.
The PoEs guided the Chinese contractor to maintain the slope of the river bank as per the main design and manage the holes created into the Padma River on the Mawa side due to river erosion during the last two years and work was carried out afterward. The Bangladesh Bridge Authority, the executing agency of the country's prime project, signed contracts with China Major Bridge Construction Company and Sino-Hydro Company Ltd on June 18 and on November 11, 2014 for constructing the 6.15-kilometre bridge and 14-km river training work respectively.
They started mobilisation work soon after signing the contracts and brought equipment like hammers and dredgers for the work but formal piling and river training work was announced in December last.
The monthly progress report was found behind the schedule of the work of all five component works except service area 1. Due to delay in confirming trial test, the BBA has already surrendered 32 per cent of the Tk 9.47 billion allocation for the Padma Multipurpose Bridge project in its revised annual development programme.     [email protected]