Bekutia Bridge to be opened on Sept 4

The much-awaited Bekutia Bridge in Pirojpur district will be inaugurated on September 4.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will virtually inaugurate the bridge at 10:00am. It will be opened for traffic the same day, said Road Transport and Highway Division Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri on Thursday.

He said, apart from the Bekutia Bridge, there are four more major bridges awaiting inauguration by the premier this year.

“The six-lane Kalna Bridge in Narail, which is the first of its kind in the country, the 3rd Shitalakkhya Bridge in Narayanganj and another in Sunamganj district will be opened for traffic in October or November,” he said.

Hopefully the other one on Matamuhuri River will be inaugurated in December, he told The Business Post.

A source at the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) said after the Prime Minister’s consent to the date for the inauguration of Bekuta Bridge, they asked the Project Director to take all preparations for the inauguration ceremony.

Project Director Abdul Awal Molla said they had some last-moment minor works left but those would be completed before the inauguration date.

This project was taken in 2017 at a cost of Tk894 crore with Tk654 crore from China as a grant. The construction began in 2018. Once opened, the Bekutia Bridge, also known as the 8th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge, will establish a direct road link between Barishal city, Pirojpur and Khulna as there will be no ferry on the Kacha River.

Once the bridge is open, it will ease road communication between Payra and Mongla ports.