Much-anticipated Payra Bridge opens to traffic today

Payra Bridge – one of the largest bridges in Bangladesh – is opening to traffic today, fulfilling a long cherished dream of denizens hailing from the country’s southern region.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to inaugurate the event virtually from Ganabhaban at 10am, said Divisional Commissioner Md Saiful Islam Badal, adding that the bridge will bring about a new era in the nation’s road communication sector.

Sources from the Roads and Highways Department say the bridge stretches from Bakerganj area of Barishal to Lebukhali area of Patuakhali, and cost Tk 1,447 crore to build. Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and Apex Fund shouldered 82 per cent of the costs.

Construction of the bridge – 1,470 metres long and 19.76 metres wide – began on 24 July 2016 and ended last September. It took 3.5 times the initial cost to build the Payra Bridge, and construction continued for five more years past the initial deadline.

Speaking to The Business Post, Project Director Md Abdul Halim said, “The Payra Bridge features a monitoring system, which will issue alerts to tackle natural disasters such as earthquake and lighting strikes, and man-made issues such as overloaded vehicles.”

End of an era in Lebukhali ferry ghat

Lebukhali ferry ghat – the biggest ferry ghat in Bangladesh’s southern region – will shut down its 40-year operation after the inauguration of Payra Bridge on Sunday. In 1980, the then government launched this ferry ghat to improve road communication between Dhaka and southern Bangladesh.

“Excluding the ferry drivers, those who used to work here have nowhere to go, because they are not listed by the government,” ferry master Md Shah Alam said.

Meanwhile, Roads and Highways Department’s Executive Engineer Kamrul Hassan said the government will make a decision on ferry services to and from Dhaka at a later time, after the Payra Bridge is inaugurated.