The 6km-long steel-built Padma Bridge is a game-changer for Bangladesh, connecting 21 southwestern districts to the capital of Dhaka and boosting the country’s economy.
The Padma River is a sprawling major distributary of the Ganges, which originates in the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas before flowing through India into Bangladesh and emptying into the Bay of Bengal.
One of the most frequented waterways in the world, the Padma has a very wide riverbed which splits in multiple channels dotted with shifting islands and sand banks. While traversable all year round, the rainy season makes it increasingly difficult for river vessels to navigate.
During heavy downpours this could essentially isolate the Bangladesh’s entire south-west from the nearby capital and the rest of the country for all but the bravest and most skilled of travellers.
With this in mind, the Bangladeshi government embarked on a massive infrastructure drive to ensure safe, year-round crossing of the Padma, as well as connecting road and rail networks to improve access to and from the southwest.
