One year of connecting Bangladesh

Shahana Nasrin Shoma has opted to take a bus journey, instead of a launch journey, with her family members to their village home in Patuakhali to join relatives to celebrate the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha. They got on a bus from Sayedabad Bus Terminal after breakfast and had lunch at home in Patuakhali on Friday, which was impossible just a year ago.

“Patuakhali-bound launches leave Dhaka’s Sadarghat in the evening and reach Patuakhali the next morning. A bus now takes only four to five hours maximum to take passengers to Patuakhali. So, road transports are more convenient now,” she said.

Travel time by road has reduced drastically since Padma Bridge’s inauguration in June last year. Bus travel was almost the same time-consuming as launches but more tiresome because of the ferries. “Nobody knew how many hours the bus would wait at Paturia or Mawa ferry ghats to get on a ferry,” Shahana said.

Regular travellers now feel more relieved as the much-awaited 6.15-km bridge has changed their travel habits, which is now much quicker and more comfortable than the past year. The bridge has made goods carrying quicker as well, opening business opportunities for the people of the south and south-western districts.

More bus companies have expanded their fleets to those destinations and the impact has been so significant that launch owners have been compelled to lower the number of trips. Meanwhile, companies with luxurious buses are also increasing the number of trips. Many companies have already managed to place their business on a strong footing in districts other than two divisional headquarters — Barishal and Khulna.

According to Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) data, the number of vehicles using the bridge has been impressive since it opened to traffic on June 26, 2022. Some 15,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day this year and BBA is earning more than Tk 2 crore per day. They have collected tolls worth Tk 779 crore till June 18, 2023.

BBA recently repaid two loan instalments of Tk 316 crore. With this, they have paid Tk 6,329 crore of the loan taken from Bangladesh Bank at a low-interest rate, under an agreement signed between BBA and the Finance Division.

In line with a revised agreement signed in July 2022, BBA will repay the loan in 35 years through 140 instalments — four instalments each year. The repayment process will continue up to FY2056-57.

The total cost of constructing the bridge was Tk 30,193 crore. But recently, the government has approved an escalated cost that will go up to Tk 32,605 crore.

The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman expressway, also known as the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga expressway, and the Padma Bridge has collectively made the communication experience with the southern and south-western region smoother and playing a vital role in its economic change.

Since the bridge came into operation, locals thought that it would be a game changer for them and it gradually started to become a reality.

For example, Shariatpur’s Gosairhat upazila now has a readymade garment factory named Mirha and Naba Fashion with over 100 workers. This factory was established in March of this year and it facilitated local people into income-generating work.

Mozammnel Haque, chairman of the company, said that he planned to invest in the factory some years before the bridge was opened. “I had a dream that here, I will have a factory that will be operated by local workers. Gradually I built structures and imported machines,” he said.

He now works with companies in Dhaka to export products abroad.

Padma Bridge has created a positive impact on the country’s export business as it directly connects three ports — Mongla and Payra seaports and Benapole land port — with Dhaka, turning the highways connecting the southwestern districts into a major corridor.

In the future, through this infrastructure, Bangladesh will be connected to the Asian highway, which will give a new dimension to the economy, said Bagerhat Chambers of Commerce President Md Kamal Hossain.

Mongla Port Authority Secretary Kalachand Singha said that since Padma Bridge started operating, more container ships are coming to Mongla Port than before. “Exports have increased by 15 per cent in one year due to the export of readymade garments produced in factories in different parts of the country through this port and it will gradually increase.”

However, he said, there are still some problems that need to be resolved to attract more business owners to export and import through this port.

Kalachand said that they will sit with stakeholders on July 5 to find ways to ensure better usage of the port. “Currently, some garment factory owners are using the port to export products to European countries. We need to assure them that they’ll benefit by using this port in future.”

Barisal Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Saidur Rahman Rintu recently told reporters that Barishal Division is gradually reaping the benefits of connectivity with the capital city.

In future, the region may become an alternative place for economic activities to the existing ones like Chattogram, he said.