The bridge department is preparing for the inauguration of the Padma Bridge on both sides next month.

The bridge department is preparing for the inauguration of the Padma Bridge on both sides next month.

The bridge department is preparing for the inauguration of the Padma Bridge on both sides next month.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will open the Padma Bridge in the last week of June. He will inaugurate from Munshiganj's Mawa end and cross the bridge to Shariatpur's Jajira end. He will hold a public meeting at Kanthalbari in Madaripur's Shibchar upazila after finishing the inaugural work at the toll plaza on the Jajira side. Assuming this, the bridge department's local management is working toward that goal.

Officials from the bridge department and members of the Prime Minister's Special Security Force (SSF) visited several locations along the Jajira side of the bridge and in the Kanthalbari region on Sunday.

On the condition of anonymity, one of the bridge department's top engineers informed Prothom Alo that the Padma Bridge's opening in the last week of June is "somewhat final." The Prime Minister will set the date as soon as possible. Officials from the bridge department, the Prime Minister's Office, local government, and the SSF's security forces are all working toward this goal. The Prime Minister will first officially open the bridge's Mawa terminus.He'll arrive at the toll plaza on the Jazira side after crossing the bridge. A new opening ceremony will be held. After that, he'll hold a public meeting at the Kanthalbari ferry station in Madaripur's Shibchar upazila. At the Mawa and Jajira ends of the bridge, two 40-foot-tall murals are being erected. Portraits of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of the Nation, and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be featured on the two murals.

Every day, officials from numerous departments, including the bridge department, visit various locations in Mawa and Jajira to inspect these activities. Cabinet secretaries and officials from the Prime Minister's Office met with Munshiganj, Shariatpur, and Madaripur deputy commissioners and police superintendents last week.

The process of putting pitch and installing lighting on the bridge was completed last month, according to bridge department officials. It is now working to get an electricity connection. The process of installing signs, signals, and markings on the bridge has already begun. Steel rails are being installed along the bridge's border wall.

Before the bridge, a connecting road was built on both ends. In January 2017, the 10.58 kilometer connecting road was opened to traffic. For the past five years, people from the south have used the connecting road to travel by sea to Dhaka. And the work on river management is nearly complete. The 10-and-a-half-kilometer riverine area between Jajira's Naodoba and Shibchar's Madbarchar is now a sight to behold. Hundreds of tourists visit the bridge every day to see it up close.

Padma bridge (main bridge) is 6.15 kilometers long. The flyover (viaduct) is 3.68 kilometers long in both directions. The bridge's total length is 9.83 kilometers. The Padma Bridge project is expected to cost Tk 30,193 crore to complete. Approximately Tk 27,341 crore has been spent so far.

Work on the main bridge has proceeded 98 percent, according to the April status report. The work on river management is 92 percent complete. Overall, the Padma Bridge project is 95 percent complete. By road, the Padma Bridge will connect 19 districts in the country's south and south-west with the rest of the country.The bridge will connect Mongla Harbor and Benapole Land Port to Chittagong, Bangladesh's capital and port city. The Padma Bridge will have a positive economic impact in addition to facilitating travel. According to the poll, if the Padma Bridge project is completed, GDP will increase by 1.23 percent. The GDP of the southwest will increase by 2.3 percent.

We are striving to make the bridge ready by June," Shafiqul Islam, project director of the Padma Bridge project, told Prothom Alo. Now the finishing touches are being applied. In agreement with the Prime Minister, the Minister for Road Transport and Bridges and the Secretary will choose the date of the bridge's opening. The bridge's two ends are being prepped for the official opening. It is currently unknown what he will do after quitting the position. However, both sides are preparing.