Construction of The Padma Multipurpose Bridge
Written by adminDecember 7, 2022 The bridge is considered to be the most challenging construction project in the history of Bangladesh, the steel truss bridge carries a four-lane highway on the upper level and a single-track railway on the lower level. The bridge consists of 41 sections, each 150.12 m (492.5 ft) long and 22 metres (72 ft) wide, with a total length of 6.15 km (3.82 mi). It is the longest bridge in Bangladesh, the longest bridge over the river Ganges (Gaṅgā) by both span and total length and features the highest pile depth of any bridge in the world at 120 m (390 ft). It is the deepest bridge in the world, with piles installed as deep as 127 metres. The construction of the bridge was considered to be especially challenging as the Padma River is among the most ferocious rivers in the world.
The bridge is expected to boost the GDP of Bangladesh by as much as 1.2 percent.
Overview of project
The detailed design of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge is being delivered by a team of international and national consultants headed by AECOM. The team comprises AECOM, SMEC International, Northwest Hydraulic Consultants and ACE Consultants, with additional assistance from Aas-Jakobsen and HR Wallingford.
The project comprises two phases. Phase 1 includes the Design Phase leading through procurement action to the award of construction contracts. Phase 2 is the Construction Phase. Phase 1 commenced on 29 January 2009. A dedicated project office was set up in Dhaka in March 2009. The detailed design of the main bridge was carried out in AECOM’s Hong Kong office. All work carried out by the design team was carried out within the framework of AECOM’s Quality Management System (QMS) which is independently accredited to AS/NZS ISO 9001. The QMS is designed to control all project work undertaken by the team. A project-specific design management plan was established at the outset of the project. In March 2009, the government of Bangladesh requested AECOM to accelerate the design to complete construction by the end of 2013. This necessitated the mobilization of additional personnel within the design team. Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) established an internationally recognized panel of experts comprising five national and five international experts to review the design at regular intervals. In addition, an independent checking engineer, Flint & Neill, was engaged to review the design criteria, specification and drawings produced by the design team to ensure the design meets the project requirements and to undertake an independent check of the detailed design of the main bridge and river training works.
A key feature of the detailed design was the integration of Bangladesh counterparts into the design team, which allowed the successful training of a significant number of Bangladesh personnel in all aspects of the project and the subsequent transfer of the high level of technology involved in this large, complex project.
Concept of the cross section construction of the bridge
Components of the
- Main bridge
- River training works (RTW)
- Janjira approach road & selected bridge end facilities
- Mawa approach road & selected bridge end facilities
- Service area – 2
- Resettlement
- Environment
- Land acquisition
- CSC (main bridge & RTW)
- CSC (approach roads & service area – 2)
- Engineering support & safety team (ESST)
Main bridge 6,150 m (20,180 ft):
- Contractor: China Major Bridge Engineering Co. Ltd, China
- Contract period: 4 years + 1 years (defect liability period)
- Contract cost: BDT: 12,133.39 crore
- Date of work order: 26 November 2014
- Date of completion: 10 December 2020
- Physical progress of work: 100%
River training works 14 km (8.7 mi) length:
- Contractor: Sinohydro Corporation Limited, China
- Contract period: 4 years + 1 years (defect liability period)
- Contract cost: BDT: 9,400 crore
- Date of work order: 31 December 2014
- Date of completion: 30 June 2022
- Physical progress of work: 100%
Janjira approach road & selected bridge end facilities 10.50 km (6.52 mi) length:
- Contractor: AML-HCM JV
- Contract period: 3 years + 1 year (defect liability period)
- Contract cost: BDT: 1097.40 crore
- Date of work order: 8 October 2013
- Date of completion: 31 October 2016
- Physical progress of work: 100%
Mawa approach road & selected bridge end facilities 1.50 km (0.93 mi) length:
- Contractor: AML-HCM JV
- Contract period: 2.5 years + 1 year (defect liability period)
- Contract cost: BDT: 193.40 crore
- Date of work order: 27 January 2014
- Date of completion: 31 July 2017
- Physical progress of work: 100%
Service area-2:
- Contractor: Abdul Monem Ltd
- Contract period: 2.5 years + 1 year (defect liability period)
- Contract cost: BDT: 208.71 crore
- Date of work order: 12 January 2014
- Date of completion: 31 July 2017
- Physical progress of work: 100%
Resettlement:
- Total additional grant: BDT: 645.95 crore (up to September 2019)
- Total no. of plots: 2752
- 2418 plots handed over to the PAP (up to September 2019)
- Date of work order: 1 June 2009
- Date of completion: 30 June 2020
Environment:
- Total no. of trees planted: 1,69,957
- Date of work order: 1 June 2009
- Date of completion: 30 June 2021
Land acquisition:
- Total land acquisition:
- Munshiganj: acquired: 329.64 hectares, handed over: 319.92 hectares
- Madaripur: acquired: 1601.19 hectares, handed over: 553.18 hectares
- Shariatpur: acquired: 610.96 hectares, handed over: 579.95 hectares
- Date of work order: 1 August 2006
- Date of completion: 31 December 2019
CSC (main bridge & RTW):
- Consultant: Korea Expressway Corporation, South Korea & Associates
- Contract period: 4 years + 1 years (defect liability period)
- Contract cost: BDT: 383.15 crore
- Date of signing contract: 3 November 2014
- Date of completion: 30 November 2019
- Progress of work: 100%
CSC (approach road & service area):
- Consultant: Special Works Organization (SWO-West), Bangladesh Army in association with Bureau of Research, Testing and Consultation of BUET
- Contract period: 3 years + 1 year (defect liability period)
- Contract cost: BDT: 133.49 crore
- Date of work order: 13 October 2013
- Date of completion: 31 October 2018
- Progress of work: 100%
Engineering Support & Safety Team (ESST):
- ESST: Bangladesh Army
- Contract period: 4 years + 1 years (defect liability period)
- Contract cost: BDT: 72.14 crore
- Date of work order: 13 October 2013
- Date of completion: 31 October 2018
- Progress of work: 100%
Construction and development
As of May 2021, more than 95% of the construction (all the main steel frame spans were set on the piers) of the 6.15-kilometre-long two-tier Padma Multipurpose Bridge had been completed. The China Major Bridge Engineering Corporation (MBEC), which was appointed for the main bridge, is carrying out the work. The bridge has a total of 42 pillars. Each have six piles beneath. Steel spans was placed on the pillars. The bridge has a total of 41 spans.
Work on the Padma Multipurpose Bridge is broadly divided into five parts—the main bridge, river training, two link roads and infrastructure (service area) construction. China’s Sinohydro Corporation was appointed for the river training works while Bangladesh’s Abdul Monem Limited was given the contract for the two link roads and infrastructure construction.
In October 2017, more than one and a half years after the main construction work began, the first span was installed between pillars 37 and 38, indicating timely progress on the project.
On 27 November 2020, construction of all 42 pillars had been completed.
The final (41st) span of the bridge was installed on 10 December 2020 at 12:02 PM.
The last road slab was installed on the span that linked pillars 12 and 13 of the Padma bridge on 24 August 2021 at 10:12 AM.
Padma Bridge Day Before Inauguration ceremony, 24 June 2022
The bridge was officially inaugurated by the prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, on 25 June 2022.
