Photo taken on March 4, 2020 shows the construction site of Padma Bridge Project near Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Stringer/Xinhua)
Chinese engineers successfully installed the 26th span of Bangladesh's largest Padma Bridge as construction continued to ensure timely completion of the project despite the COVID-19 outbreak.
By the end of February, 86 percent of construction of the 6.15-km bridge has been completed.
DHAKA, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese engineers on Tuesday successfully installed the 26th span of Bangladesh's largest Padma Bridge as China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group continued relentless efforts to ensure timely completion of the project despite the COVID-19 outbreak.
The 3,140-ton span was placed on the pillars 28 and 29 of the bridge on Tuesday morning.
With the installation of the 150-meter long span, the 26th span among the 41 spans has been installed on the 6.15-km bridge and 3,900 meters of the bridge is now visible.
Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, many Chinese-undertaken major projects including Padma Bridge are still under regular construction in Bangladesh.
A Chinese engineer works at the construction site of Padma Bridge Project near Dhaka, Bangladesh, March 4, 2020. (Stringer/Xinhua)
During the traditional Chinese Spring Festival, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming said thousands of Chinese engineers, technicians, and employees here did not choose to return to China and reunite with their families but continued to engage in the construction and production in Bangladesh with their dedication and hard labors to implement projects on time.
Liu Jianhua, project manager of Padma Multipurpose Bridge, also recently said up to the end of February 2020, 86 percent of the 6.15-km Padma bridge construction had been completed.
Liu said since the outbreak of the COVID-19, they have taken many measures in relation to the prevention and controlling of the epidemic.
Photo taken on March 4, 2020 shows the construction site of Padma Bridge Project near Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Stringer/Xinhua)
In June 2014, the Bangladeshi government awarded China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group a 1.55-billion-U.S.-dollar contract to build the core structure of the Padma Bridge project.
In December 2015, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the main works of Padma Bridge project, the biggest of its kind for the country.
Apart from connecting nearly 30 million people in Bangladesh's southwest region to the rest of the country, the bridge will enhance regional trade and collaboration along the Asian highway No. 1 and the Trans-Asian railway network.■
