Bangladesh’s Padma Bridge Built Against All Odds – The Diplomat

On June 25, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated a bridge over the Padma River. The longest bridge in Bangladesh, the 6.15-km-long Padma Multipurpose Bridge marks an essential milestone in unbiased Bangladesh’s historical past, as it’s a image not simply of Bangladesh’s resolve however of its rising financial capability and improvement.

Talking on the inauguration of the Padma Bridge, Hasina stated: “This bridge isn’t just bricks, cement, iron, and concrete This bridge is our satisfaction, an emblem of our capability, our energy and our dignity. This bridge belongs to the folks of Bangladesh.”

The Hasina authorities’s authentic plan was to construct the Padma Bridge with exterior funding from the World Financial institution, Asian Improvement Financial institution (ADB), and the Japan Worldwide Cooperation Company (JICA). Nonetheless the World Financial institution abruptly withdrew from funding the mission in 2012, citing corruption of presidency officers. This end in different funders pulling out of the mission too. It severely impacted the picture of the nation and of the ruling occasion, the Awami League. It was a setback for the folks of Bangladesh as nicely. This prompted Hasina to go for self-funding the mission regardless of economists and opposition politicians warning in opposition to it. So the completion of the Padma Bridge has change into an emblem of nationwide satisfaction and dignity.

Constructed at a value of practically $3.87 billion, the Padma Bridge is without doubt one of the largest initiatives Bangladesh has ever undertaken. It connects 21 districts in southwest Bangladesh with the capital, Dhaka, by highway and rail and cuts journey time considerably.

Whereas the worldwide financial state of affairs is gloomy and international locations within the area are experiencing damaging progress, Bangladesh’s financial system is rising. The World Financial Discussion board says that Bangladesh’s per capita earnings, which was $2,260 in 2020, will rise to $2,860 in 2025. Aside from this mission, Bangladesh has additionally prolonged help to Maldives and Sri Lanka by offering them with loans value $400 million. Bangladesh’s funding of the mega Padma mission will now add to its repute as a rising financial energy in South Asia.

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Awami League leaders credit score Hasina’s robust management over the previous 13 years for Bangladesh’s emergence as a center earnings nation and its different financial successes.

The Padma Bridge’s largest contribution will likely be to Bangladesh’s financial progress. Economists say that it’ll present a 1.3 to 2 p.c enhance every year to the nation’s GDP. When the railway element of the bridge is accomplished, the mission will contribute one other 1 p.c to the GDP. The bridge mission’s contribution to Bangladesh’s GDP is predicted to rise to five p.c by 2055.

Based on Zahid Hossain, a lead economist of the World Financial institution, the Padma Bridge will minimize journey distance by 100 km for round 27 p.c of Bangladesh’s inhabitants to spice up enterprise and agriculture, thereby impacting the nation’s GDP.

Different consultants affirm that the bridge will assist alleviate poverty, enhance commerce, tourism, and business, and create alternatives for employment within the southwest of the nation.

The Padma Bridge has regional implications as nicely.

It is going to enhance connectivity. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal signed a Motor Automobile Settlement for the Regulation of Passenger, Private and Cargo Vehicular Site visitors in 2015. The Padma Bridge will present the BBIN Community with the connectivity it wants.

For cargo from its Northeast headed to Kolkata, India has lengthy been eyeing a shorter transit route via Bangladesh. Throughout his go to to Bangladesh in April 2022, India’s Minister for Exterior Affairs S. Jaishankar stated, “India appears to be like ahead to a stronger subregional cooperation in connectivity.” In an announcement issued on the inauguration of the Padma Bridge, the Indian Excessive Fee in Dhaka stated that the bridge “wouldn’t solely assist enhance intra-Bangladesh connectivity, however it’s going to additionally present much-needed impetus to logistics and companies connecting India and our shared subregion… The bridge will play an essential position in fostering higher bilateral and subregional connectivity.”

The Padma Bridge is predicted to impression home politics too. Given the mass irregularities within the conduct of the final elections in 2014 and 2018, the present Awami League authorities has lacked legitimacy within the eyes of a number of international locations, together with america. Whereas the Hasina authorities is below large stress to make sure a free and honest election when it’s held in 2023, a improvement mission of the magnitude and significance of the Padma mission will bestow the federal government with legitimacy from under.

With questions being raised over the legitimacy of elections and the standard of Bangladesh’s democracy, Awami League leaders have been selling the thought of “Much less Democracy, Extra Improvement” within the parliament. They may have the ability to maintain the Padma mission as a shining instance of that improvement.

Whilst northeast Bangladesh was reeling below its worst flood in many years, the Hasina authorities celebrated the inauguration of the Padma Bridge throughout the nation and spent a substantial amount of cash on this. Clearly, the federal government desires to attract electoral profit from the completion of the bridge. Solely time will inform whether or not the Padma Bridge will serve the Awami League’s political and electoral agenda or not.