The government has decided to rebuild and repair all the bridges on the roads in rural areas under 58 upazilas, which are important for communications but become impossible.
The decision has been taken in view of further developing the road communication system, said sources.
According to sources, the Local Government Department has taken up a project titled 'Construction of Important Bridges on Rural Roads under (Phase II)'.
Costing Tk 4,050 crore, the project will be implemented by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED).
The sources also said that the project titled, 'Construction of Important Bridges on Rural Roads (Phase II)' is aimed to improve socio-economic conditions by reducing transportation time and cost through the development of rural road connectivity. It will also facilitate transportation of agricultural or non-agricultural goods and create short and long term employment opportunities in the project area.
Officials of the LGED said that the project, funded by the government from its own funds, has recently been approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC). If all goes well, the project is expected to be fully implemented by December 31, 2026.
Elaborating on the project plan, officials concerned said that under this project, several hundred bridges, which are important for communications and connectivity, under 58 upazilas of 35 districts in all the eight divisions will also be rebuilt and repaired.
Besides, they said, this project will also lead to short and long-term employment opportunities for the people of the project areas. Their socio-economic conditions will also be developed through the development of rural road communication systems as well. Moreover, the time and cost of transporting goods will also be reduced.
In reply to a query, an official of the LGED said, as per the proposal from the Local Government Department, it has been mentioned that at least 17,697 meters of bridges will be constructed through the project. In addition, 38,800 meters of approach roads and connecting roads will be constructed.
Talking about the project, Planning Minister MA Mannan said that the project would improve the rural communication system by constructing hundreds of bridges in different parts of the country. Such an initiative would also help improve rural business.
It should be mentioned that hundreds of bridges and roads in the rural areas have become damaged due to different natural disasters like floods and cyclones causing suffering to people of the rural areas. In this context, the government wants to restore the communication system to reduce the suffering of village people.
