South Korea would provide Bangladesh with US$8.85 million in grants to build capacity in smart- and AI-based bridge maintenance technology across the country.
The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) will shift from its manual bridge monitoring system to artificial intelligence (AI) and technology-driven approach, aiming to improve the effectiveness of regular maintenance, officials said.
The Economic Relations Division (ERD) and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) signed the Record of Discussion (RoD) and Terms of Reference (ToR) to this effect in Dhaka on Thursday.
Ms. Mirana Mahrukh, Additional Secretary of the ERD, and Taeyoung Kim, Country Director of KOICA, signed the documents.
Under a project titled "Capacity Development for Smart Maintenance Technology of Bridges", the RHD will utilise smart maintenance technologies to improve safety of the bridges.
KOICA will provide the amount equivalent to around Tk 1.08 billion to implement the project.
Currently, the RHD oversees over 20,000 bridges and culverts in its 21,000 kilometres of road network across the country. This monitoring involves a systemic approach called Bridge Management System (BMS).
Officials say the BMS relies on periodic visual inspections and data entry - a process prone to time constraints, human error and limited real-time insights.
In contrast, the new Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) technology leverages a network of sensors embedded within bridge structures to continuously collect data on vibration, deflection and strain.
Complex algorithms then analyse this data to detect possible damage, predict remaining lifespan and optimise maintenance schedules.
The Korean financial support will be utilised to pilot the SHM technology on five to six major bridges in Bangladesh, RHD officials said.
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