The long-cherished Padma Bridge will open for vehicular movement on June 25, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader confirmed on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to inaugurate the bridge at 10:00am on June 25, the minister told journalists after meeting with the premier at Ganabhaban in Dhaka.

About the mega structure
The Padma Bridge became visible on September 30, 2017, with the installation of the first span on pillars 37 and 38. After 38 months, the work of installing all the spans was completed.

The bridge’s toll plaza, connecting road, and other structures are situated in Shibchar of Madaripur, as they involve three districts.

The bridge’s length on the river body is 6.15km, being joined with 41 spans – each 150 metres long – on 42 pillars.

There will be 2,917 roadway slabs for road transport and 2,959 railway slabs for trains. Of these, 1,239 road slabs and 1,860 railway slabs have been installed as of November 30.

In 2007, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the Padma Bridge construction project at a cost of Tk 10,162 crore.

The bridge was earlier slated to be commissioned by 2013. Later, the project expenditure was revised thrice to Tk 20,507 crore in 2011, Tk 28,793 crore in 2016, and Tk 30,193 crore in 2018.