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Preface
A bridge built by China with assistance to Bangladesh has brought more than 100 million yuan in income to Bangladesh after a year, and the locals call the bridge built by China "the bridge of dreams" and show it off everywhere.
This is the Padma Bridge, which is located on the Padma River and is one of the important passages connecting China and Southeast Asia with the "Trans-Asian Railway".
While the world marvels at Bangladesh's "Bridge of Dreams", little is known about the story behind its construction.
If it weren't for China's timely assistance to Bangladesh, the bridge would have become a lamentable "unfinished project".
What is the reason for China's assistance in Bangladesh's Padma Bridge project? What impact does this bridge have on Bangladesh's economic development?
Why the Padma Bridge is in danger of being completed
About 40 kilometers southwest of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, a 9.8-kilometer bridge spans the Padma River and connects Dhaka with the southern Bangladeshi city of Bodolgat.
This is the Padma Bridge, known to locals as the "Bridge of Dreams".
Whether it's the scale of the bridge's construction or the economic benefits it brings, the Padma Bridge has become a source of pride for the people of Bangladesh.
But if China hadn't come to China's aid on the Padma Bridge, Bangladesh would have faced the biggest bridge project in their history.
The story of the Padma Bridge begins with the Padma River, the "mother river" of Bangladesh.
The Padma River is an important tributary of the Ganges River, which flows from northwest to southeast for 356 kilometers and runs through the entire territory of the Bengal River.
The Padma River not only brings abundant water for irrigation to Bangladesh, but also enables Bangladesh to develop developed navigation, so the Padma River is also revered as the "mother river" of Bangladesh.
In Bengali, "padma" refers to the lotus flower, and the lotus flower often has a holy color in religion.
However, while the Padma River brings many benefits to Bangladesh, it also divides the territory of Bangladesh into east and west.
Bangladesh's two major cities, Dhaka and Bodolgat, are separated by the north and south of the Padma River, which brings many inconveniences to Bangladesh's land transportation.
Some Bengali traders engaged in land-to-shore trade, in order to transport goods smoothly across the Padma River, had to unload the goods, carry them by river, and then transport them by land after they arrived at the shore.
This has greatly increased the cost of trade between the east and west sides of Bangladesh, and has also made it difficult for Bangladesh to form a unified national market for a long period of time.
In order to solve the problem of cross-strait trade difficulties in Bangladesh, Bangladesh decided to invite domestic and foreign builders to assist Bangladesh in building a bridge across the Padma River in 2010.
At that time, China was moving towards the second place in the world's GDP, and China's infrastructure, which had just gone overseas, was also beginning to show its edge at that time.
However, Bangladesh did not immediately find China because of various concerns, but hired a Canadian construction company called SNC.
At that time, Bangladesh also believed that Canada had more experience in infrastructure and could better assist Bangladesh in building a "dream bridge" in the hearts of its people as soon as possible.
Bangladeshi authorities, after signing an agreement with Canada's SNC, have even drawn up an ambitious plan: start construction in 2011, complete the main bridge in 2013, and complete it by 2015.
But what happened next was beyond the expectations of all Bangladeshis, and in the middle of the bridge construction, the builders of the Padma Bridge suddenly broke out into a shocking scandal.
It turned out that in order to win the Padma Bridge project, Canada's SNC company did not hesitate to take a lot of money to bribe senior officials of the Bangladeshi government!
As soon as the news came out, public opinion was in an uproar, and not only Bangladesh's own citizens began to express concerns about the quality of the Padma Bridge.
Even the World Bank, which initially provided loans to Bangladesh, withdrew its loan funds to Bangladesh because of alleged corruption by SNC and the Bangladeshi authorities.
This also put the Padma Bridge project in danger of collapse, after investors have withdrawn, Bangladesh boldly came up with $3 billion, saying that the Padma Bridge must be repaired.
The $3 billion is almost all the money of the Bangladeshi authorities, but it is still a drop in the bucket for the huge project of repairing the Padma Bridge.
At a time when Bangladesh was uncertain about the prospects of the Padma Bridge, China, the "infrastructure madman", extended a timely helping hand to Bangladesh.
Infrastructure madness, how to win a billion orders
The Bangladeshi authorities were ecstatic when they learned that China was willing to take the soon-to-be-completed Padma Bridge. However, Bangladesh still has various concerns about the construction of the bridge.
For Bangladesh, China was their first construction partner. How much did China spend to help Bangladesh build the Padma Bridge? Are there any additional requirements?
More importantly, what was the quality of China's infrastructure at the time?
These questions are not only the thoughts of the Bangladeshi authorities, but also the concerns of countries around the world about China's infrastructure.
To Bangladesh's surprise, China not only offered a price far lower than Bangladesh's financial expectations, but also made solemn assurances about the quality of the bridge.
In its negotiations with Bangladesh, China proposed:
The contract value of the bridge construction project is 1.549 billion US dollars, which is contracted by the China Railway Bridge Bureau. In order to cooperate with the river dredging of the bridge, PowerChina Castle was built, with a contract value of 1.113 billion US dollars.
China's offer of low prices can be said to solve the problem of Bangladesh's shyness.
What is even more commendable is that China, unlike Canada and other Western countries, did not attach any political conditions in the process of assisting Bangladesh in building the Padma Bridge! This is even more touching for Bangladesh.
But China's proposed cost-effective conditions have also brought another question to everyone's minds - can China guarantee the quality of the Padma Bridge if the bridge is built at such a low price?
Soon, some Western media with ulterior motives blew the old tune of "singing about China", and some companies that failed to win the bid threatened:
Some of the bridge construction technology cannot be conquered by China, and the construction of the Padma Bridge is not necessary for construction companies from Western countries.
However, China, as an "infrastructure madman", the next round of dazzling operations can be said to have slapped some people in the face.
The Chinese builders also know that it will not be easy to repair the Padma Bridge.
The Padma Bridge crosses the Padma River Basin, and the sediments on the riverbed are mostly fine sand, which is very loose, which is not conducive to erecting the foundation of the bridge, making the local construction extremely difficult.
In addition, Bangladesh is located in the global tropical monsoon climate zone, and the weather is unpredictable during the rainy season.
The Padma River often rises after heavy rains, and frequent flooding adds many obstacles to the construction of the bridge, and even endangers the lives of the construction team.
With these issues in mind, the Chinese construction team is very attentive and knows that:
This expedition is not only to repair the Padma Bridge and give an explanation to the people of Bangladesh who are looking forward to it, but also to defend the honor and image of the country.
In 2015, when the Padma Bridge was reborn, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited the construction site and gave her sincere blessings to the Chinese construction team.
Behind the Chinese construction team are hundreds of millions of Bangladeshi and Chinese who are silently cheering them on.
As the saying goes, "the soldiers will block, and the water will cover the earth", and the intelligent Chinese construction team quickly came up with a strategy to repair the Padma Bridge.
Faced with the loose sedimentary riverbed on both sides of the Padma River, the Chinese construction team adopted the most advanced super-large bored pile foundation technology in China at that time.
Through deep drilling of pile foundation and reinforcement treatment, the stability and bearing capacity of the foundation are ensured, and a solid foundation is laid for the construction of the Padma Bridge.
As for the unpredictable weather in the Padma River basin, China has long been prepared accordingly.
In the Chinese construction team that "set out" to the Padma River Basin, there are not only experienced engineers, but also meteorologists who have traveled through the world.
They carried out a detailed survey of the climate and hydrology of the Padma River basin to ensure that every construction project was carried out without the flood season of the Padma River, so as to ensure the normal progress of the construction and the safety of the workers.
But even so, the Chinese workers who participated in the construction of the Padma Bridge were still inevitably exposed to wind and rain, and their hard work for the Padma Bridge was remembered in the hearts of the people of Bangladesh.
Hard work pays off.
In October 2017, halfway through the construction of the main construction of the Padma Bridge, the mainland achieved the "first span" of the 37th and 38th piers of the Padma Bridge, and since then the east and west banks of Bangladesh are no longer far apart.
The pace of construction in China has far exceeded the expectations of the Bangladeshi authorities, and many Bangladeshi people sigh with joy: it is precisely because of China's assistance that the bridge, which was about to be completed, can be "brought back to life".
Three years after the mainland realized the "first span" of the Padma Bridge, China has successfully completed the construction of 41 bridge piers.
On June 25, 2022, after 8 years of arduous construction, the Padma Bridge was finally opened to traffic, and the opening ceremony was held.
The completion of the Padma Bridge has attracted a lot of cheers from the people of Bangladesh, and Bangladeshis are also proud, uploading photos from different angles to express their excitement and joy.
Padma Bridge, what has come to China and Bangladesh
The construction of the Padma Bridge has completely changed the geographical environment and market pattern of Bangladesh.
The east and west banks, which were once separated by the Padma River, were completely connected by a bridge built with Chinese assistance, revitalizing the overall economy of Bangladesh.
Looking at Bangladesh's economic figures, we may find that the economic dividends brought by the Padma Bridge to Bangladesh may far exceed everyone's expectations.
According to official statistics released by Bangladesh, the Padma Bridge has brought more than 100 million yuan in revenue to Bangladesh in just one year after its completion.
In one year, the bridge has accumulated more than 5.65 million vehicles, and the revenue from bridge tolls has exceeded 7.9 billion taka, about 530 million yuan.
The world's economic experts estimate that after the completion of the Padma Bridge, nearly 27% of Bangladesh's population will enjoy the transportation convenience brought by the bridge, and Bangladesh's GDP will grow by 1.3%-2.0% per year due to the Padma Bridge.
Bangladesh was able to build the Padma Bridge and have such rapid economic development, which is inseparable from China's aid, so it is no wonder that the locals praise the Padma Bridge as a "magic bridge" that China helped Bangladesh build.
In the process of helping Bangladesh build the Padma Bridge, China has also extended an olive branch to the Bangladeshi authorities under the Belt and Road Initiative, inviting Bangladesh to share the fruits of China's economic development.
Bangladesh chose to join the Belt and Road Initiative, partly out of consideration for its own national interests, and partly out of its sincere gratitude to China.
As the largest infrastructure project in Bangladesh to date, the Padma Bridge will connect 21 districts in southern Bangladesh with the capital Dhaka, allowing residents on both sides of the Padma River to say goodbye to their centuries-old history of ferrying.
It's no wonder they show off everywhere.
After the completion of the Padma Bridge, whether it is Bangladesh or China, with the help of the Padma Bridge, the transportation cost to India, Pakistan and other countries has been greatly reduced.
This will help China and Bangladesh to further enter the markets of other countries and open up new sources of profit.
epilogue
Therefore, for China and Bangladesh, the Padma Bridge project is a win-win outcome for both parties and a model in China's "One Belt, One Road" story.
Today, the Padma Bridge has become a "dream bridge" for the people of Bangladesh to live a well-off life.
I believe that in the future, this bridge will carry the prosperity of the people of China and Bangladesh, and always remember the deep friendship between the two countries!
Bibliography:
[1] Xinhuanet: Global Connection|Visit the Padma Bridge, Bangladesh's "Bridge of Dreams" built by Chinese enterprises
[2] Economic and Trade Research: "Belt and Road Success Story: Bangladesh Padma Bridge and Railway Link Launched".
[3] WordSteel: The longest bridge over the Ganges – the Padma Bridge in Bangladesh