bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

FORTY years since the idea was first muted, construction has finally started on a massive US$696 million (about HK$5.4 billion) bridge spanning the mighty Jamuna River.

  The 4.8-kilometre-long bridge being built by Hyundai of South Korea is scheduled for completion in 1997.

  It will be one of the world's longest bridges with a four-lane highway over 47 separate spans - each 100 metres long.

  More importantly, millions of people will benefit from the crossing.

  For centuries, the Jamuna River has divided the nation into two, creating an occasionally impassable barrier between the north of the country and the east, including the capital, Dhaka.

  'Such separation has added to many constraints and difficulties in communication, trade and business,' said economist Mowdood-ur-Rasheed.

  'Due to the barrier caused by the river, the north of the country has had difficulty trading agricultural products such as rice, lychees, mangoes, sugar cane and water melon.

  'Similarly, supplies from the east to the north have to undergo a long ferry journey.'   Traders of perishable goods have suffered most from painstakingly long queues for the ferry, especially in the dry season when the river becomes difficult to navigate.

  For this reason, the spanning of the Jamuna was given top priority by the government and considered to be essential for the socio-economical development of the entire nation.

  The biggest problem the country faced was paying for it. Such a gigantic project was far beyond the budget of a poor country like Bangladesh.

  However, the United Nations Development Fund agreed to fund a technical survey in 1985 and, in 1989, the World Bank accepted the findings of a feasibility study which selected a site nine kilometres from the town of Serajganj as the most suitable crossing point.

 Funding was achieved with contributions worth US$200 million (HK$1.54 billion) from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and Japan.

   Bangladesh contributed the final US$96 million.

 Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia breathed a sigh of relief when the foundation stone was laid last summer.

  Apart from the highway, construction will include a breakdown lane and two-way footpaths.

   Later, with minor modifications, a metre-gauge railway might also be incorporated when funding permits.

  Working alongside Hyundai on the project is M/S Hamvanordaez of Holland, which is responsible for reclamation, and another South Korean firm, Samwhan Corporation, which is building the approach roads.

  It is estimated that 72,000 people - or 12,000 families - will be displaced by the project which requires 2,298 hectares of land along both banks of the river.

  But the Jamuna Multi-purpose Bridge Authority has allocated US$46 million for their re-settlement.

  'The bridge has been a long-cherished dream of our people,' Mr Rasheed said.

  'There have been demands for the construction of something like this since the 1950s.

  'The river has caused insurmountable suffering for millions of people. So the project is not merely bridging the divided banks. It also stands as a symbol of the hopes and aspirations of our nation.' 



Jamuna bridge to link key regions