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In My View

The Padma Bridge: A symbol of Bangladesh’s pride

Published : Friday, 3 June, 2022 at 12:00 AM  Count : 1010
Syed Badiuzzaman
Just as the headline reads, the brand new bridge over the once mighty Padma River is now one of the greatest symbols of the nation's pride. Let us not calculate the construction cost of the longest bridge of Bangladesh in terms of any currency as no amount of money can actually measure the value of this landmark achievement of the country.

It is, indeed, a pride of the nation--a symbol of Bangladesh's resilience, self-reliance and determination. It clearly demonstrates that Bangladesh does have the capacity to take up mega projects on its own and complete them successfully. The Padma Bridge which marks the biggest milestone on the road to Bangladesh's economic development was the most challenging construction project in the history of the nation.

And the credit goes primarily to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Padma Bridge project faced a major debacle right in the very beginning when the World Bank brought some charges of bidding irregularities against a number of Bangladeshi government officials. During that critical time, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina handled the situation calmly in an intelligent manner creating an example of her exceptional leadership.

Unhappy with the response from the Bangladesh government, the World Bank cancelled the $1.2 billion IDA credit it earlier approved for financing the Padma Bridge project. But the World Bank's decision couldn't stop Sheikh Hasina from going ahead with the bridge. She took an extremely courageous step to continue its construction with Bangladesh's own resources and assured the nation that there would be a bridge across the Padma River.

National pride, the spirit of self-reliance and the leadership of Sheikh Hasina fired up Bangladeshi people. They extended their whole-hearted support to her decision to go ahead with the construction of the Padma Bridge at any cost. And an animated prime minister attached highest priority to the project and completed it with completely domestic resources in just about eight years ignoring little resistance from her government.  

According to an old adage, there is a blessing in disguise in an adverse situation. And that was exactly what happened centering the construction of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge after the withdrawal of the World Bank support from this mega project. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh defiantly went ahead with the construction of the bridge spending entirely its own money and stood out in the world as a self-reliant nation.

Apart from building a new image among its development partners around the world as a country that can take up and finish big project on its own, Bangladesh also made significant economic gains by self-financing the construction of Padma Bridge. Even if the World Bank would charge a bare minimum interest on $1.2 billion IDA credit for the bridge construction, it would take decades for Bangladesh to repay the principal and interest to the global lending agency.

When Sheikh Hasina cuts the ribbon on June 25 opening the landmark bridge to vehicular traffic across the Padma River, it will be viewed by historians as Bangladesh's moon moments. Once no one thought that humans would ever be able to go to the moon and walk there but the youngest president of America John F. Kennedy envisioned it. And as he predicted, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin became the first humans to set their feet on the surface of the moon and walked there on July 21 in 1969 stunning the whole world.

Similarly, once no one in Bangladesh ever thought that they would see a bridge over the vast Padma River in their lifetime. Many development partners of Bangladesh had skepticism about the ability of this country to build a bridge of this size over a big river like Padma on its own using only its domestic resources. But with her extraordinary courage, patriotism, determination and the spirit of self-reliance, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina materialized the dream project surprising many people at home and abroad. It takes big leaders like John F. Kennedy and Sheikh Hasina to make big decisions.

Some people of Bangladeshi origin in the United States are reportedly planning to celebrate the inauguration of the Padma Bridge on June 25 in front of the office of the World Bank in Washington. This is a bad idea! It will spoil the moon moments of Bangladesh. Any celebration across the World Bank office in Washington will be interpreted by many as teasing the global lending agency for its cancellation of $1.2 billion IDA credit for Padma Bridge construction. This kind of provocative act must be avoided. Bangladeshis are better than that. The World Bank is the most important development partner of Bangladesh; this agency has played a vital role in the economic development of the country since independence.

Since the Padma Bridge--Bangladesh's dream project--is now a reality owing to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's personal initiative, hard work, determination and bold decision, many had thought that this landmark construction would be named after her. And their imagination had its basis as well. There are numerous structures and institutions across the world, which have been named after the leaders who played the principal role in their construction or establishment. So, the Padma Bridge could very well be named after Sheikh Hasina. There would be nothing wrong with naming the bridge as such.

However, the prime minister didn't want the bridge named after her even though she was the brain and the inspiration behind this dream project of Bangladesh right from the beginning. Relevant authorities did place a proposal before the prime minister for naming the bridge after her but she gracefully rejected their suggestion and announced that the current name of the Padma Bridge would remain unaltered putting all speculations over naming the bridge anew to rest. This showcased Sheikh Hasina's wisdom, magnanimity and another example of selfless leadership.

Although the country spent a large sum of money for the construction of the Padma Bridge, its benefits will outweigh the costs. According to a study of the World Bank, at least 30 million people, shy of one-fifth of Bangladesh's total population will directly benefit from the bridge. As estimated by economists, the bridge will increase the gross domestic product (GDP) of Bangladesh by 1.2 percent and create employment opportunities for as many as 10 million people. The bridge will significantly boost commercial and industrial activities in at least 21 south-western districts of Bangladesh.

As mentioned in the beginning, no amount of money can measure the value of this landmark achievement of Bangladesh. It has connected the two banks of the river separated by a distance of 6.15 kilometres. The Padma Bridge is already the greatest wonder of Bangladesh. The bridge will bring not only those who will need to cross it but also thousands of visitors each month--at least initially--to take a glimpse of it. This is truly the greatest symbol of self-reliance of Bangladesh now standing proudly over the Padma.
The writer is a Toronto-based
journalist who also writes for the Toronto Sun as a guest columnist






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