Narail

Construction work of Kalna bridge yet to start

Construction of four-lane Kalna Bridge on the River Madhumati has not yet been started although its foundation stone was laid one year ago. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone through a video conference on January 24 last year. Prior to this, on 19 January in 2014, the project of Kalna Bridge project was passed at an ECNEC meeting.
The construction work of the 680 metres in length, 18.2 metres wide bridge was scheduled to be completed by June 2017 with the financial assistance of Japan International Corporation Agency (JAICA).
While visiting the area on January 09, 2015 Road Transport and Bridge Minister Obaidul Kader informed the people there that the construction work of the bridge would start by April, 2015.
However, sources at the ‘Cross-Border Road Network Improvement Project, Bangladesh’ said the design of the bridge has not been prepared.
If the bridge is built at Kalna point, the regional transport communication will improve significantly. Khulna divisional president of Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Shramik Federation Sadek Ahmed Khan said: “We became hopeful when our prime minister laid the foundation of the bridge. But we are now frustrated as no preparatory work like land acquisition and bidding for construction has not yet been started.”  If the bridge is built, the distance between Benapole and Dhaka will be reduced by about 200 kilometres, he said.
Executive Engineer of Roads and Highways Department Samiran Roy said as the tender and land acquisition process has not begun it is impossible to say when the construction work will begin.

Narail

Construction work of Kalna bridge yet to start

Construction of four-lane Kalna Bridge on the River Madhumati has not yet been started although its foundation stone was laid one year ago. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone through a video conference on January 24 last year. Prior to this, on 19 January in 2014, the project of Kalna Bridge project was passed at an ECNEC meeting. The construction work of the 680 metres in length, 18.2 metres wide bridge was scheduled to be completed by June 2017 with the financial assistance of Japan International Corporation Agency (JAICA). While visiting the area on January 09, 2015 Road Transport and Bridge Minister Obaidul Kader informed the people there that the construction work of the bridge would start by April, 2015. However, sources at the Cross-Border Road Network Improvement Project, Bangladesh said the design of the bridge has not been prepared. If the bridge is built at Kalna point, the regional transport communication will improve significantly. Khulna divisional president of Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Shramik Federation Sadek Ahmed Khan said: We became hopeful when our prime minister laid the foundation of the bridge. But we are now frustrated as no preparatory work like land acquisition and bidding for construction has not yet been started. If the bridge is built, the distance between Benapole and Dhaka will be reduced by about 200 kilometres, he said. Executive Engineer of Roads and Highways Department Samiran Roy said as the tender and land acquisition process has not begun it is impossible to say when the construction work will begin.