Additional Tk2,682cr sought for Padma Bridge project

The Bridges Division has sought an additional Tk2,682 crore for the Padma Multipurpose Bridge project in the 3rd Revised Development Project Proposal, which was sent to the Planning Commission yesterday.

According to the revised proposal, the reasons for the additional fund include currency fluctuation, design change in pile foundation, increase in VAT (value-added tax) and income tax due to change in legislation, increased cost due to the design of 400kV transmission tower foundation platforms, design change in Mawa River training work, additional works for operation and maintenance and other civil works and bridge opening ceremony etc.

Officials at the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) said most of the works, for which funds were sought in the third revision, have been completed. New financing is now needed to pay the bills.

Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian, member of the Physical Infrastructure Division of the Planning Commission told TBS, "Padma bridge project is our priority project. If more funding is needed for this project, it should be provided as soon as possible. But before that, the revised proposal will be scrutinised by the commission."

As per the third revised proposal, the project cost will now increase to Tk32,875.54 crore, which in the second revision was estimated to be at Tk30,193.38 crore.

Although the Padma Bridge was open for traffic movement last June, the work on some elements of the project is still going on. As per the previous proposal, the project implementation work was supposed to be completed by 2023, but the new proposal has proposed an extension by another year.

The reasons for revision proposal

BBA officials said the pile foundation of 22 out of the 41 piers had to be redesigned because of the existence of soft soil.

Officials said cost increased also due to the design of 400kV transmission tower foundation platforms.

The transmission line of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is passing through Padma River. The Power Grid Company of Bangladesh has done the main work of the transmission line. However, the piers have been set up as part of the Padma Bridge project.

According to the revised proposal, VAT and income tax have been increased by the government at various times. In the case of foreign contractors, VAT and income tax increased to 15% from 10.5%. Costs involved for additional VAT and income tax for the main bridge is Tk405 crore and for river training works Tk282 crore.

Due to the increase in completion time of the project, the contract value of Construction Supervision Consultant-2 stands at Tk957.15 crore.

The revised proposal says the project cost has increased due to delay in completion of the project. An additional 43 months are required to complete the main bridge work and 55 months to complete the river training work – which caused the delay.

The road and culvert extension at the Mawa end required an additional Tk19 crore.

Some additional work of operation and maintenance has been done in the Padma Bridge project requiring additional funds, says the project proposal.

Other additional work include equipment supply for operation and maintenance, optic fibre cable installation, island extension at both the toll plazas, proposed bus-bay and dedicated truck lane, proposed ansar barrack for the bridge's security and construction of line road from approach road to Janjira rock stackyard.

The new revised proposal also adds the expenditure incurred on the inauguration of the Padma Bridge project.

Besides, costs for the publication of first day cover and stamps by the GPO and printing of special bank notes by the Bangladesh Bank is included in the Padma Bridge project.

The proposal mentions that the Padma Bridge project needs the additional financing due to the rise in the value of the dollar.

The Bridge Authority said the dollar rate was Tk78.30 in the contract, but the dollar purchase rate shot up to Tk104 causing additional expenditure.

Explaining the design change in Mawa river training works, the proposal says during the monsoon of 2012, the old Mawa ferry terminal area eroded by the severe currents in the river and disappeared into the riverbed. The location of the eroded area was along the alignment of river training work. During the execution of actual work, it was seen that morphological changes of river have occurred as a result of erosion. To accommodate this eroded part into the river training work the design had to be changed. To carry out the physical work as per modified design additional cost had to be spent.

The Bridge Authority said a few holes developed in the Mawa river training area during severe floods in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2021, and the voids were filled with plastic bags/geobags for which additional cost was required.

According to the revised proposal, the shifting of the ferry terminal from Kathalbari to Bangla Bazar for uninterrupted ferry operation also required additional spending.