Padma Bridge: A great achievement

The much-awaited Padma Bridge dream has come true. It's a great achievement for Bangladesh, "Hats Off " to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for showing the development partners and the world that Bangladesh is capable of implementing such a mega project with its own resources, according to the editorial of the current News Bulletin (Oct-Dec 2020) of International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICCB) released on Sunday.
With completion of the Padma Bridge, Bangladesh will be connected with many of the South and Southeast Asian countries. It will contribute immensely to communication, trade, industry, tourism and many other sectors in various ways. In particular it will immediately help in having better and faster connectivity with Bhutan, India and Nepal for trade and tourism, says the ICCB bulletin.
The main structure of the 6.15-kilometre long Padma Bridge was completed on December 10, 2020. The double-decker Bridge, with road and rail tracks, was estimated to cost around US$1.21 billion in 2007 but the cost has increased to US$ 3.86 billion, almost three times the original estimate. The cost escalation could have been minimized with close monitoring and timely implementation. The Rail Link through Padma Bridge is expected to be completed by June 2024 to improve accessibility of Dhaka with central and south western regions of the country. The estimated cost of the Rail Link Project is US$ 4.63 billion, 85 per cent will be provided by the government of China through the Exim Bank of China under an agreement.
According to experts, once the bridge is fully operational in June 2022 (if not further delayed), it will contribute around 1.2 per cent to the annual GDP growth, reduce poverty and increase economic activities of the people of the southwest region. It will open up investment in the south and southwestern regions and will connect Bangladesh's premier Chattogram Seaport directly with the main land port Benapole.
The southwestern region covers approximately 27 per cent of the country and is home to nearly a quarter of its over 165 million population. But this region has remained one of the least developed parts, primarily due to lack of connectivity with the rest of the country, according to an Asian Development Bangladesh (ADB) study in 2011. "The proportion of the population below the poverty line in the southwestern region remains about five per cent higher than in the rest of the country".
According to a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) study, a 10 per cent decrease in travel time to and from Dhaka will lead to a 5.5 per cent increase in district economic output. The benefits of the project would be equivalent to an annual increase of at least 1.7 per cent of southwestern region GDP in value and of 0.56 per cent of annual increase of national GDP, according to the World Bank project appraisal document in 2011.
Besides Padma Bridge, the country is currently implementing a number of mega infrastructure projects like Dhaka Metro Rail, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel under the Karnaphuli River, Third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge over the Jamuna River among others, the bulletin says.
Bangladesh has been at the centre of initiatives such as the BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement, the BCIM Corridor and the BIMSTEC alliance, which envisage greater market access and create an enabling environment for rapid economic development. In order to promote trade, Bangladesh needs to join the UN Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention, 1975). In recent years, a number of countries including China, India and Pakistan have joined the TIR Convention. With the completion of the Padma Bridge, the TIR system will help further enhance regional integration in South Asia and facilitate Bangladesh's access to global markets.
Bangladesh is set to achieve its vision of reaching middle-income status by its 50th birthday on 16 December 2021. Appropriate infrastructure is the element to sustain the development momentum. Therefore, as desired by Prime Minister, all the concerned agencies must work in concert to complete the on-going as well as future mega infrastructure projects as per schedule the bulletin editorial suggests.
In such a situation, Bangladesh's journey as a developing economy will be more robust; belying apprehension of some quarters, it adds.