Bridges Division pays Tk315 crore of Padma Bridge loan

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday (18 December) received Tk315 crore as the 5th and 7th installments of the loan taken for the construction of Padma Bridge.

With these, the Bridges Division has paid a total of Tk948,01,19,585 to the government in a total of six installments.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader handed over the cheque of Tk315,07,53,442 to the Prime Minister at her official Gobobhaban residence, said PM's press secretary Ihsanul Karim.

Ambassador at large M Ziauddin, PM's Principal Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah, Finance Division Secretary Dr Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder, high officials of the PMO, the Bridges and the Finance Divisions were present.

On 5 April, the bridges division began the repayment of the loan with Tk316,90,97,050 from the revenue it earned as toll collection from the bridge as the first and second installments.

On 19 June this year, the Bridges Division paid Tk316,02,69093 as the third and fourth installments.

The prime minister opened the country's largest bridge – the 6.15-km Padma Bridge- over the mighty Padma River. It was built with the country's finance at a cost of over Tk 32,605 crore on 25 June 2022.

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.

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.