DHAKA, June 27, 2022 (BSS) - Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud today said the government has saved Taka 30,000 to 50,000 crore in 6.15 km Padma Bridge construction compared to construction cost of 1.8km Hardinge Bridge.

He said this while taking part in the general discussion on budget in Jatiya Sangsad here.

Presenting an account, he said construction of 1.8 kilometer long Hardinge Bridge on river Padma at Pakshey point under Ishwardi upazila in Pabna ended in 1915 and the works began in 1910.

Standard of value of anything is determined on the basis of gold rate and at the period of opening of Hardinge Bridge, there was no system of determining standard of value in dollar, he mentioned.

Hasan, also Awami League joint general secretary, said the Hardinge Bridge was built at a cost of 4 crore 75 lakh 50 thousand rupees and gold rate for per 10 gram was 18.98 rupees which is now Taka 68,000.

If in that account the 1.8 Hardinge Bridge was built, it would have needed Taka 17,035 crore, he said.

Hardinge Bridge is 1.8 kilometer long while Padma Bridge is 6.15 kilometer meant it is three times longer than Hardinge Bridge, he said.

If Hardinge Bridge is built similar to Padma Bridge's length, it will need Taka 98,000 as per gold rate, he said.

Hardinge Bridge is only a railway bridge but Padma Bridge is a multipurpose one having four-lane road on top and single track dual-gauge rail on the bottom as well as gas line and fiber optic cable.

He said if this is taking into account, it needs Taka 1,00,000 crore to build Hardinge Bridge similar to Padma Bridge.

"So, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has saved Taka 30,000 to 50,000 crore in Padma Bridge construction compared to cost of Hardinge Bridge construction," he said.

The minister urged BNP to refute his remarks logically.

He said the construction works of the 7.18 kilometer San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in California, the USA began in 1999 and ended after 14 years in 2013.

In 1999, the estimated cost was $1 billion but it stood at $ 6.5 billion in 2013 after increasing the cost by around 6.5 times and if it ended in 2022, it would need $12 billion, he mentioned.

So, it can be understood easily how much money the premier saved in Padma Bridge construction, he said.

The information and broadcasting minister said today the entire world is lauding the government for Padma Bridge construction as the feat is praised in India, the USA, Pakistan, Singapore, Brunei and the North American.

Newspapers all over the world lauded the capacity of Bangladesh and leadership of Sheikh Hasina but BNP couldn't do so, he said.

About BNP lawmaker Harunur Rashid's speech in Parliament, he said Harun thanked the premier but didn't congratulate her.

Actually, BNP is suffering from jealousy as the Padma Bridge is built, he said.

Media reports say the youth who was seen removing nuts and bolts from the railing of Padma Bridge in a now viral TikTok video was an activist of Chhatra Dal, students' wing of BNP, he said.

Hasan said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir remains silent over the matter and BNP lawmaker Harunur Rashid on Sunday raised questions over human rights in his speech.

 "I want to say in this Parliament human rights condition in Bangladesh is better than the US. There is no jail in our country where arrestees face inhumane torture. In our country, children are not kept to other places detaching them from parents for years after years which are seen in the United States. When children brought up they can't recognize their parents," he said.

Incidents like George Floyd killing didn't take place in Bangladesh, he said, adding that the US is now talking about death in custody.

Since 2013, over 7000 people have been shot dead in police firing in the United States in seven years, he mentioned.

In 2022, 250 shootings took place in the USA while persons involved in bombings are used to be shot dead in streets of Brussels in Europe, he said, adding that when such encounter incidents take place in Bangladesh, they raise different types of questions.

 Black people face severe racism in the USA, as every year many blacks die in custody in the country, he said.

"So, human rights condition in Bangladesh is better than the USA," he said.

Turning to size of budget, the minister said the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2022-23 is 8.7 times larger than the budget for FY 2008-09.
Budget implementation rate is 95-97 percent in the last several years, he said.

Some organizations like TIB, CPD as well as BNP say every year that the government will not able to implement the budget and it will not make welfare of poor, he said.

Noting that they gave same comments over the past decade, he said but, the 95-97 percent budget is being implemented every year.

Poverty rate declined to 20 percent from 42pc and extreme poverty rate comes down below 10, he said.

Noting that per capita income climbed to $2824 from $600, he said the country is marching forward as Bangladesh is now the 31st largest economy by purchasing power parity in the world and this is reality, he said.

He said Padma Bridge was opened two days ago which is a symbol of the country's capacity as well as emotions and love of the people.

Padma Bridge is symbol of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's courage to implement the mega project defying all local and international conspiracies, the minister said.

He said the country's biggest self-financed Padma Bridge has been possible because of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

When the project was taken, the World Bank scrapped its loan for Padma Bridge construction raising allegations of corruptions but Canadian court didn't find any base of the allegations and evidence of corruption.

In 2011, Padma Bridge project cost was estimated at around $ 2.75 billion dollar, the information minister said.

Of the amount, Bangladesh sought $ 1.2 billion loan from the World Bank and rest from other donor agencies, he said.

Hasan said today the project was implemented at a cost of $ 3.25 billion as per standard of value of dollar now, he said.

As per standard of value of dollar of that period, it was $ 2.75 billion but the works ended at $ 3.25 billion dollar as per present standard of value of dollar, the information and broadcasting minister said.