Dream comes true

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has opened the much-anticipated 6.15 kilometer Padma Bridge for vehicular movement which will bring a massive progress in road connectivity of 21 south and southwestern districts with capital Dhaka and other major cities.

The Prime Minister formally opened the Padma Bridge by unveiling the inaugural plaque and mural-1 after paying toll at the Mawa point on Saturday. She also joined a munajat offered there.

She began her journey for Jajira point in Shariatpur from Mawa point by road crossing the bridge.

The premier reached Jajira point and unveiled the inaugural plaque of the bridge and mural-2. She also joined a munajat there.

The event came 25 years after she opened the Bangabandhu Bridge on the Jamuna River, another most powerful stream, linking northwest with Dhaka and other parts of the country in 1998, until when that was Bangladesh's longest multipurpose bridge.
 
But the Padma Bridge carries extra significance as the structure was built entirely with domestic financing, defying speculations by many financial analysts if Bangladesh could mobilize the fund depending on domestic resources.
 
 The Padma Bridge project witnessed several engineering wonders as well as technological challenges but eventually emerged as a wonder structure for Bangladesh that saw use of state-art machineries and know how.
 
Before the opening of the Padma Bridge, she also took photos with the concerned officials involved in construction of the bridge.
 
 Unveiling the plaque, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has initiated the process of giving toll to cross the much-awaited Padma Multipurpose Bridge, soon after opening it to the traffic.
 
 The self-financed bridge project was implemented at the total cost of Taka around 30,193 crore.