The Bridges Division on Monday (June 19, 2023) paid Tk 316.02 crore as third and fourth installments of the loan taken for construction of Padma Bridge. Bridges Division Secretary Manjur Hossain handed over a cheque of Tk 316,02,69,093 to the Senior Secretary of Finance Division around 10 am  in presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said a press release of Road Transport and Bridges Ministry. Read: Repayment of Padma Bridge loan starts with Tk 316.91 crore given to govt Road Transport and Bridge Minister Obaidul Quader, cabinet members, secretary, principal secretary to the prime minister were also present at that time. With this, the Bridges Division paid a total of Tk 632,93,36,6142 to the government in installments. Read: Tk 660.24 cr toll collected from Padma Bridge till April 25: Quader Earlier on April 5, the Bridges Division began the repayment of the loan with Tk 316,90,97,049 from the revenue it earned as toll collection from the bridge. The loan was taken from Bangladesh Bank at a low interest rate under an agreement signed between the Finance Division and the Bangladesh Bridge Authority. Read: Padma Bridge Rail Link: 75% complete, on course for June 2024 handover In line with a revised agreement with the finance division on 26 July 2022, the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) will repay the loan in 35 years through 140 installments (four installments each year). The repayment will continue up to the fiscal year 2056-57. The authority collected tolls worth Tk 779,75,87,000 from the bridge till June 18,2023.

Roads and Bridges Minister and Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader said that the dream project Padma Bridge will be opened for traffic movement in June 2022. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Quader said this at an exchange meeting with officials of Sylhet Zone, BRTC and BRTA this morning while he virtually joined the meeting from his official residence. The work of the entire bridge structure has been completed with the installation of the latest girder of the viaduct at the Mawa end of the Padma Bridge yesterday, he informed. Stating that the progress of the construction work of the main bridge has been 93.2% so far, the bridge minister said that the progress of river governance work is 63% while the overall progress of the project is 85.5%. Earlier, the Bridges Division sought the extension in February this year  as the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted project progress. Also read: ‘Godspeed Bangladesh’: ICCB on Padma Bridge The Bridges Division sent the proposal for the time extension to the Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Planning Commission (PC) on February 2. However, the Bridges Division informed the minister again that bridges can be opened for traffic by June 2022 despite the appeal for deadline extension until June 2023. Obaidul Quader said, "It is very difficult to understand the character of Corona. There is no alternative to wearing mask and following health guidelines. We have to pay more attention to strict hygiene." Quader also said the situation in India today is people are dying before going to the hospital, crying for a bed and oxygen, their crematorium and graveyard are unable to afford the corpse. "We must now be extremely vigilant against the alarming message of infection and death rates in neighboring India, " he warned. Also read: Padma Bridge, Metro Rail opening to public within June 2022: Quader Stating that there is no reason to worry about the vaccine, the second man of the ruling party said that when a humanitarian leader like Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina i, this difficult time will end one day. Regarding the Dhaka-Sylhet and SylhetRoad and bridge minister Obaidul Quader said the Padma Bridge will be opened to traffic in June 2022. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said this at an exchange meeting with officials of Sylhet Zone, BRTC and BRTA this morning. The Minister virtually joined the meeting from his official residence. The work of the entire bridge structure has been completed with the installation of the latest girder of the viaduct at the Mawa end of the Padma Bridge yesterday! Stating that the progress of the construction work of the main bridge has been 93.2% so far, the bridge minister said that the progress of river governance work is 63% and the overall progress of the project is 85.5%. Also read: Padma Bridge: An impressive mega project gets close to completion Obaidul Quader, general secretary of the Awami League, said, "It is very difficult to understand Corona. There is no alternative to hygiene  and wearing mask. We have to pay more attention to strict hygiene." Obaidul Quader said what is the situation in India today, people are dying before going to the hospital, crying for a bed and oxygen, their crematorium and graveyard can not be found.Therefore, the Minister said, we must now be extremely vigilant against the alarming message of infection and death rates in neighboring India.  Stating that there is no reason to worry about the vaccine, Obaidul Quader said that this difficult time will end one day as a humanitarian leader like Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is working relentlessly. Regarding the Dhaka-Sylhet and Sylhet-Tamabil highway projects, the Minister for Road Transport and Bridges said that it is one of the priority projects at the moment, so more importance should be given to upgrade the road to four lanes.