Final Deal Likely to Be Reached within This Year

Khandker Anwarul Islam (left), director of Bangladesh Bridge Authority, and Shin Young-suk, managing director of Korea Expressway Corp., shake hands after signing an MOU.

Korea Expressway Corp. (KEC) announced on Sept. 17 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) for the operation and maintenance of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge.

This came after the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport officially recommended KEC to BBA last year as the firm that operates and maintains the Padma Bridge

Under the agreement, the two companies will begin negotiations based on a project proposal to be submitted by KEC soon. They are expected to conclude a deal within this year.

If KEC wins the project, it will be in charge of overall operation and maintenance of the Padma Bridge, such as toll collection, road and structure repair, and patrol and disaster management. In this case, the project will be worth 100 billion won (US$84.07 billion) over the next 10 years.

The Padma Bridge will be the largest special bridge in Bangladesh with a total length of 6.15 kilometers. The two-level steel truss bridge will carry a four-lane highway on the upper level and a single track railway on a lower level. Construction work of the long-cherished bridge started in 2014, and it is Bangladesh’s biggest civil engineering project worth 3 trillion won (US$2.52 billion) in total.

The bridge is being constructed by a Chinese construction firm and is being managed and supervised by KEC.

In particular, KEC is highly rated by the BBA for leading the project smoothly despite poor working conditions, including the overflow of the river during the rainy season.

Shin Young-suk, managing director of KEC, said, “We hope that our experience in highway construction and maintenance help with transportation infrastructure projects in Bangladesh. We will continue to help South Korean companies push into the global market and actively support the government’s policy to revitalize overseas construction projects.”

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