Shawdesh Desk:

The 33rd span of the Padma Bridge was installed on Monday bringing a total of 4.95 kilometres of the structure into view.

The span, weighing 3,140 tonnes, was installed on pillars no 3 and 4 at Mawa point around 12:00 pm noon, said Executive Engineer (Bridge) Dewan Md Abdul Quader.

Earlier, the 32nd span of the bridge was installed on October 11.

According to the Padma Bridge authorities, the 6.15km-long bridge with a total of 41 spans will become visible in December and the entire Padma Bridge will be seen by the beginning of 2021.

Once in operation, the Padma Bridge, Bangladesh’s largest infrastructure project till date, will connect 21 southern districts with the capital and is expected to boost the GDP by 1.0 per cent.

The Padma Bridge is the largest construction infrastructure since the independence of Bangladesh, which was initiated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The construction work began in December, 2014 with own fund.

The construction of the main bridge is being made by China Major Bridge Engineering Company (MBEC), a Chinese contractor Company, and the river management is being done by Sino Hydro Corporation of China.

The 6.15 km long bridge will have two segments over which road and railways will be set up.